"Dark Wisdom" Relaunching in Another Form

The end of the quarterly Lovecraftian horror magazine "Dark Wisdom" (originally called "Book of Dark Wisdom") will be felt as a severe blow by readers first hearing this news. The publication sent an e-mail and posted a bulletin on their website discussing the vast changes unfolding. In many ways, it is shocking--the eleven issue magazine has provided a wealth of cutting edge dark fiction, reviews, and articles since its appearance in 2004. At this juncture, it's also arguably the equal of the reincarnated "Weird Tales" in quality and commercial success, at least for the reader with specific weird cravings.

Why, then, is this seeming bastion of high class horror closing down? The simple answer is that it isn't. As their communications attest, "Dark Wisdom" is to be put out once per year as a collected anthology of fiction and articles, while a steadier stream of material will be published via website. It's unclear precisely why this path has been taken. It may merely be the selection of a new business model, or something less savory like a damaging editorial shakeup or loss of revenue behind the scenes. This alteration is also hardly "Dark Wisdom's" first evolution. In fact, the magazine was originally launched as a Call of Cthulhu gaming gazette, and later saw itself grow from a small press black and white creation to a full color professional format.

And what of Elder Signs Press? The rising publisher of new Cthulhu Mythos anthologies and other horror delights appears to be, at least in part, driving the reformatting of "Dark Wisdom." Their website cites a desire to expand the book publishing business as a major reason for discontinuing "Dark Wisdom's" quarterly appearance. This may well be a boon to Lovecraft admirers in the long run, since it will undoubtedly provide the publisher a better opportunity to churn out works of innovative Mythos fiction like High Seas Cthulhu and Horrors Beyond. As with most business ventures in the tenuous field of niche horror, only time will show if this foray into focused book publishing and an altered format for "Dark Wisdom" will prove profitable and favorable to the reader.

-Grim Blogger