Books Indie Press Spotlight Can’t Miss Indie Press Speculative Fiction for March and April 2026 This month’s indie press highlights range from reimagined folktales to more experimental works… By Tobias Carroll | Published on March 24, 2026 Comment 0 Share New Share What do independent presses have in store for us readers in March and April? Broadly speaking, the answer is, “A lot.” Looking over this list, you’ll find plenty of fantasy, horror, and science fiction; literary work that summons everything from humor to boundless dread. So consider this list a panoply of what’s out there, from reimagined legends and folktales to more experimental works that push at the limits of the imagination. They’re maps of the minds of their authors as well as reflections of the world around them, and they may well be gateways into new world to boot. File Under: THE ENTRAINED The writings of E.L. Chen have been praised in these pages before, including in Alex Brown’s rundown of notable short fiction for March 2023. Chen’s new book is a tale of Gothic literature, Sweetside Motel, about a woman stranded at a motel in the early days of the pandemic. Does the motel have a sinister reputation and grim secrets? Does it ever. (Interstellar Flight Press; Mar. 2, 2026) There are myriad subgenres out there for readers to consider, but Vincent Endwell’s Olyoke may well usher in a new category: Dolly Parton-adjacent horror. (Though arguably, the party game Jolene might truly hold this honor.) One of the central characters of Endwell’s book is a Parton impersonator, and the town in which the novel is set is also home to a theme park not dissimilar to Dollywood. Do strange things take place there? You know they do. (Tenebrous Press; Mar. 24, 2026) You may well have read fiction by Alex Grecian right here at Reactor. Grecian’s new book The Boatman details an especially unnerving vacation experience: a cruise ship that finds itself pursued by the title character, a figure capable of keeping up with a massive vessel using only a rowboat. Getting some “The Mainz Psalter” vibes from this, which is an excellent thing. (Bad Hand Press; Apr. 7, 2026) Daniel Zomparelli’s bibliography encompasses everything from an anthology of rom-com-inspired poetry to editing a collection of queer horror. Zomparelli’s new book Super Castle Fun Park focuses on a group of characters in surreal situations, some of them involving ghosts, in which a themed hotel plays a crucial (and ominous) role. (Arsenal Pulp Press; Apr. 14, 2026) File Under: THE FOLKLORIC In a recent interview with Nighttide, G.G. Silverman discussed the themes that informed her collection The Blood Year Daughter. Silverman called it “a response to my experience of being female, being the daughter of immigrants, as well as being disabled.” She also noted that these stories include references to Fellini and Calvino, which is always welcome.(Creature; Apr. 28, 2026) While reading up on the works of Brian Kubarycz, I learned that he has written pretty extensively about some terrific metal bands. That doesn’t directly relate to his new collection Perdition, but a writer having solid musical taste never hurts. Kubarycz’s stated focus on building stories around a single image, and Brian Evenson calling this book’s contents “powerful, eccentric, and visionary tales” all suggest a singular reading experience. (Baobab Press; Apr. 14, 2026)  David Quantick’s writing career has encompassed fiction in long and short forms, as well as writing for shows like Blue Jam and Veep. (He won an Emmy for his work on the latter.) His latest book, the novella Imagine a Friend, is about two friends who find themselves on opposite sides of a very literal divide. In a recent interview, he said that this book emerged from “an idea for a short story with a twist in the tail.” (Stars and Sabers; Mar. 10, 2026) File Under: THE FUTURISTIC What happens if you transpose Homer’s The Odyssey into the future? There are a few answers to that question, including the comic book ODY-C by Matt Fraction and Christian Ward. This spring brings another answer to Anglophone readers in translation, via Roberto Balò’s Saga. (The translator here is  Robert Fitterman.) Saga blends elements of a certain classical poem with more contemporary and pulpy science fictional aspects to achieve something altogether different. (Diálogos; Mar. 20, 2026) Full disclosure: there are several blurbs on Justin Feinstein’s new novel Your Behavior Will Be Monitored, and one of them is from me. Feinstein’s novel is set in the near future, and reckons with two big questions: what happens if AI gets just a little bit smarter? And how will the people who stand to profit from this technology take advantage of that, possibly to the detriment of the rest of humanity? (Tachyon Publications, Apr. 7, 2026) In 2024, I reviewed Balsam Karam’s The Singularity for Words Without Borders and dug it a lot. That novel offered a stylized view of the modern world; for Event Horizon, Karam and translator Saskia Vogel take the reader into outer space, for a story of oppression and resistance in an authoritarian state. It’s both a powerful tale in its own right and a compelling expansion of Karam’s bibliography. (Feminist Press, Mar. 31, 2026) File Under: THE GHOSTLY The latest installment in publisher Two Lines Press’s Calico Series of short story collections is I Was Alive Here Once: Ghost Stories. As the subtitle suggests, this abounds with tales of the unquiet dead, written by authors from a trio of continents. In a review for Asymptote, Jay Boss Rubin praised the stories for the way that they “expand, enrich, and complicate notions of the phantasmagorical.” (Two Lines Press; Mar. 10, 2026) Joanne Anderton’s Pixerina is a ghost story with a unique twist, incorporating the experience of being creatively blocked into the story of an artist’s encounter with a haunted house and the spirit that lives inside. And if that sounds intriguing, you can read an excerpt at the Horror Writers’ Association’s website. (Bad Hand Press; Apr. 28, 2026) To state the obvious, Charlene Elsby’s fiction is intense. She also has a knack for a punchy, evocative title: her new book Poor Damned Souls follows her 2023 novel The Devil Thinks I’m Pretty. This book is about a deeply flawed relationship with a sideline in murder. A recent review in Dead End Follies noted that the novel includes “a descent into madness that rivals the most vile and ancillary Italian horror movie you’d prefer to forget.” Intense! (Merigold Independent; Mar. 25, 2026) Gwendolyn Kiste’s fiction has earned her plenty of acclaim as well as multiple Bram Stoker Awards. One of the stories in her new collection The Haunted Houses She Calls Her Own is, in fact, a story that received said award: the memorably-titled “The Eight People Who Murdered Me (Excerpt From Lucy Westenra’s Diary).” (Raw Dog Screaming Press; Apr. 14, 2026) File Under: THE HISTORICAL Philip Fracass knows his way around the uncanny; his novel Altar features some of the most all-encompassing senses of dread I’ve ever encountered on the page. Sarafina tells the story of a trio of brothers who attempt to leave the Civil War behind, and whose journey takes them to places that are even more horrific than they could imagine. (CLASH Books; Apr. 7, 2026) In her new novel, Amy Pence covers decades of American history, beginning in the Watergate era and moving forward through time. Also, there’s an intelligent slime mold at the center of the aforementioned novel, Yellow. “I wanted this character to experience the unity of the universe,” Pence explained in an interview with ArtsATL. (Red Hen Press; Mar. 24, 2026) Juxtaposing a trip into the uncanny with the very real political tumult in Prague in 1968, J. M. Sidorova’s novel The Witch of Prague revisits a time of unrest to tell a story of secret histories and magical abilities. In a review for Nerds of a Feather, Flock Together published last year, Paul Weimer noted that this novel “has strong resonance in a world where authoritarian forces are on the rise and are seeking to shut down dissent and resistance.” (Homeward Books; Mar. 17, 2026) At the center of Cecilia Tan’s The Mystery of the Bitten Peach is a protagonist named Mei with a unique ability: teleporting herself throughout space and time to locations that have ties to China—whether neighborhoods or specific periods in history. So begins her search through history for a rare artifact of both historical and personal significance. (Neon Hemlock; Spring 2026) File Under: THE OTHERWORDLY Over a century ago, writer Irene Clyde was pushing back against perceptions of gender in the U.K. (This comic by Piper Bly gives a good sense of why Clyde’s work is so significant.) Now, Clyde’s novel Beatrice the Sixteenth, set in a utopian alternate world with no concept of gender, is getting a stylish new edition, complete with an introduction by the great Lucy Sante. (MIT Press/Radium Age; Mar. 31, 2026) Publisher Unsolicited Press describes Nick Gregorio’s new novel Jen & Gary’s Infinite (Quantum) Entanglements as “a multiversal romantic comedy,” which is a heck of an elevator pitch. In a piece at Independent Book Review, Gabriella Harrison called it “an inventive and philosophically playful novel,” which sounds enticing. (Unsolicited Press; Apr. 21, 2026) In 2023, Alex Brown praised Cheryl S. Ntumy’s story “Old Solomon’s Eyes,” calling it “a story that will give you goosebumps.” This year brings with it a novel from Ntumy, titled They Made Us Blood and Fury; it’s the first in a new series set in a world in which a shortage of a material called lifeblood sparks a crisis that brings a complex group of characters together. (Rosarium Books; Apr. 14, 2026) I’ve praised Dorothy Tse in this column before, when her novel Owlish was released in translation. Now, Tse has returned, teaming with translator Natascha Bruce for City Like Water. This particular novel is set in a mysterious city undergoing existential changes and facing authoritarian and consumerist threats from within. (Graywolf; Mar. 3, 2026) A 2019 article published at File770 chronicled a number of intriguing speculative works from European writers. One prominent name on that list was Attila Veres, whose fiction has subsequently been published in the U.S. to considerable acclaim. His newly-translated collection This’ll Make Things a Little Easier goes deeper into his unsettling body of work, encompassing trips to alternate worlds and bizarre creatures invading our world. (Valancourt Books; Mar. 24. 2026) File Under: THE SURREAL Last year saw the publication of a collection of short stories by Bette A. If you have a sense of deja vu, that’s because this year sees the publication of a different collection by the same author, Slow Stories. The author and Brian Eno also recently collaborated on songs and visual art inspired by stories from the collection. (Unnamed Press, Mar. 17, 2026) Dan Coxon’s name has come up in these pages a few times in the last year, including for his work as an editor and a World Fantasy Award recipient. April will see the publication of his collection of folk horror, Come Sing for the Harrowing, which includes an introduction by the esteemed Brian Evenson. Coxon knows how to blend fiction with a sustained sense of place, and that quality should be on abundant display here. (CLASH Books; Apr. 21, 2026) Full disclosure: as an editor, I published one of the stories featured in TJ Fuller’s collection Some Stupid Glow, so I’m not entirely impartial about this one. But if you enjoy stories of frustration and unlikely connections set in the Pacific Northwest and laced with no small amount of surrealism, you can find plenty within these pages. (featherproof; Apr. 14, 2026) Kelly Krumrie is doing fascinating work, combining literature and mathematics in unexpected ways. Her publisher cited “Alain Robbe-Grillet, Jeff VanderMeer, and Silvina Ocampo” in describing her new book Concentric Macroscope, a work in which radio transmissions, language, and the natural world collide. (Crop Circle Press; Mar. 17, 2026)[end-mark] The post Can’t Miss Indie Press Speculative Fiction for March and April 2026 appeared first on Reactor.