In case you didn’t know, we are currently in the middle of a literary horror renaissance. According to Nielsen data, horror sales increased 54 percent in 2023 and continue to grow. Based on Amazon sales figures for 2025, horror books experienced the biggest growth of all genres. Here in Southeast Iowa, book-loving horror fans get the chance to participate in the One of Us Horror Book Fair, Iowa’s first and only horror literary festival for fans, writers, and the morbidly curious. Now in its second year, the event returns to Public Space One in Iowa City on September 5, noon to 4 p.m.
Built around the simple idea of celebrating the strange, the independent, and the deeply personal, this literary showcase offers a rare opportunity to explore work that exists beyond the mainstream and to meet the people creating it, whether you are a lifelong horror reader or simply eager to learn about today’s thriving independent publishing scene.
Founded in 2025 by Ira Rat of Filthy Loot Press, the event gives Midwest underground and transgressive creatives a real-world space to connect with readers and with each other, and to celebrate the DIY spirit that keeps independent horror alive. The fair offers an afternoon of horror fiction, eerie conversation, and the infectious energy found among independent writers, presses, and readers.
“One of the most rewarding things about the first year,” Ira says, “was looking around and seeing just how many horror fans were willing to drive from across the Midwest to meet authors and discover publishers they’d never heard of before.”
Ira is very excited about this year’s lineup. “We have independent presses and authors coming from around the country, including Daniel Kraus, but what I’m most excited about is giving Iowa readers a chance to discover the incredible writers, artists, and small publishers we already have here. It’s the kind of event that shows there’s a vibrant literary network in Iowa that people don’t always get to see.”
Ira founded One of Us to fill an important niche. “Over the last eight years,” he says, “I’ve found myself driving everywhere from Minneapolis to Pennsylvania and West Virginia just to get in front of horror fans and introduce them to my books and the work I publish by authors from around the world.”
Talking with horror fans throughout Iowa, he found that they were eager for more opportunities to connect in the state. While Iowa does have a handful of smaller horror events, including the long-running Halloweenapalooza and the more recent Coffin Con in Mason City, those are primarily film focused.
“There really hasn’t been anything centered specifically on horror books, writers, publishers, and readers,” Ira says. “The last full-fledged horror convention in Des Moines was two years ago and on the final day, they announced that it would be the event’s first and only year. That was the moment I decided I needed to try doing something myself.”
Bringing together some of the most respected independent horror publishers and writers from across the Midwest, One of Us gives readers opportunities to connect directly with the creators behind some of the genre’s most exciting work. Featured publishers include Filthy Loot Press (Ames), Weirdpunk Books, Ghoulish Books, and Cursed Morsels Press (Minneapolis).
Horror encompasses more than classic authors like Edgar Allan Poe, Mary Shelley, Stephen King, and Shirley Jackson. Hot new authors like T.J. Kingsolver, Stephen Graham Jones, Silvia Moreno-Garcia, Tiffany D. Jackson, Tananarive Due, and former Fairfielder Daniel Kraus—who recently won a Pulitzer—are expanding the genre with their best sellers. From cozy horror to supernatural thrillers to gothic mysteries to body horror and apocalyptic splatter fests, horror has something for everyone.
One of Us attendees have the chance to meet the authors, including Daniel Kraus, Shirley Jackson Award-nominated author Joe Koch, and over a dozen other writers and artists from across the region, as well as sponsors Green Dragon Bookshop and Pretty Good Co. Participating authors and publishers have been featured in the New York Times, Fangoria, Rue Morgue, and Scream Magazine.
Running Filthy Loot Press over the years has introduced Ira to many people he now considers friends, and he is happy One of Us gives him “the chance to bring some of those people together in the same room, to see some again and meet others in person for the first time.”
Ira deliberately chose the name One of Us because a “sense of community is really at the heart of the event. It’s about creating a space for horror writers, publishers, and readers to find one another.”
For more information, see OneofUsFest.com.
