We’re delighted to present the contents list for our upcoming Beyond & Within anthology: Witchcraft: Folk Tales & Horror Stories, publishing in January 2026. Edited by Marie O’Regan and Paul Kane, this new collection of witchcraft stories delves into global mythologies and forgotten folklore, exploring what it truly means to be a ‘witch’. From eerie forests to haunted landscapes, these tales rise from the earth itself, weaving together themes of isolation, power, and the ancient bond between witches and nature. Each story reclaims and reimagines witchcraft – its roots, its risks, and the choice between light and dark magic. 5 stories in this collection were selected from an open submissions process which attracted hundreds of submissions.

The Flame Tree Beyond and Within short story collections bring together tales of myth and imagination by modern and contemporary writers, carefully selected by anthologists, and sometimes featuring short stories from a single author. Overall, the series presents a wide range of diverse and inclusive voices with myth, folkloric-inflected short fiction, and an emphasis on the supernatural, science fiction, the mysterious and the speculative. The books themselves are gorgeous, with foiled covers, printed edges and published only in hardcover editions, offering a lifetime of reading pleasure.

Topics: Short Stories, anthologies

Welcoming Sara Larner

Flame Tree Press welcomes author and screenwriter Sara Larner to the blog to talk about their short story “A Note for William Cowper”, which appears alongside a stellar line-up in the groundbreaking anthology This Way Lies Madness, releasing in September from Flame Tree Press in our Beyond & Within series. In the introduction to the work, the book’s co-editors, Dave Jeffery and Lee Murray, say the anthology “defies convention by bringing together authentic, sensitive portrayals of mental illness in a genre that has notoriously lacked such tenets.” Comprising 23 stories and poems, the book also includes accompanying vignettes offering insight into the authors’ motivation for their work.

Topics: Gothic Dreams, Author Interview, Beyond & Within, This Way Lies Madness

 

The Geography of Missing: How Home Became Plural

Or: How I Learned That Homesickness Isn't Actually About Geography

Topics: Between Worlds, Writer in Residence, lifeinlondon

Welcoming Tim Waggoner

Flame Tree Press welcomes Bram Stoker Award-winning author Tim Waggoner to the blog to talk about his short story “Old Friends”, which appears alongside a stellar line-up in the groundbreaking anthology This Way Lies Madness, releasing in September from Flame Tree Press in our Beyond & Within series. In the introduction to the work, the book’s co-editors, Dave Jeffery and Lee Murray, say the anthology “defies convention by bringing together authentic, sensitive portrayals of mental illness in a genre that has notoriously lacked such tenets.” Comprising 23 stories and poems, the book also includes accompanying vignettes offering insight into the authors’ motivation for their work.

Topics: Gothic Dreams, Author Interview, Beyond & Within, This Way Lies Madness

Welcoming Ryan Cole

Flame Tree Press welcomes author Ryan Cole to the blog to talk about his short story “We Don’t Talk about the Sink”, which appears alongside a stellar line-up in the groundbreaking anthology This Way Lies Madness, releasing in September from Flame Tree Press in our Beyond & Within series. In the introduction to the work, the book’s co-editors, Dave Jeffery and Lee Murray, say the anthology “defies convention by bringing together authentic, sensitive portrayals of mental illness in a genre that has notoriously lacked such tenets.” Comprising 23 stories and poems, the book also includes accompanying vignettes offering insight into the authors’ motivation for their work.

Topics: Gothic Dreams, Author Interview, Beyond & Within, This Way Lies Madness

 

Publishing Culture: Books as Living, Breathing Entities

Or: How I Learned That Dog-Eared Pages Are Actually Love Letters

Topics: Between Worlds, Writer in Residence, lifeinlondon

Welcoming Alma Katsu

Flame Tree Press welcomes Bram Stoker Award-winner Alma Katsu to the blog to talk about her haunting short story “The Familiar’s Assistant”, which appears alongside a stellar line-up in the groundbreaking anthology This Way Lies Madness, releasing in September from Flame Tree Press in our Beyond & Within series. In the introduction to the work, the book’s co-editors, Dave Jeffery and Lee Murray, say the anthology “defies convention by bringing together authentic, sensitive portrayals of mental illness in a genre that has notoriously lacked such tenets.” Comprising 23 stories and poems, the book also includes accompanying vignettes offering insight into the authors’ motivation for their work.

Topics: Gothic Dreams, Author Interview, Beyond & Within, This Way Lies Madness

Welcoming Amanda Cecelia Lang

Flame Tree Press welcomes writer Amanda Cecelia Lang to the blog to talk about her chilling short story “Nothing and the Boy”, which appears alongside a stellar line-up in the groundbreaking anthology This Way Lies Madness, releasing in September from Flame Tree Press in our Beyond & Within series. In the introduction to the work, the book’s co-editors, Dave Jeffery and Lee Murray, say the anthology “defies convention by bringing together authentic, sensitive portrayals of mental illness in a genre that has notoriously lacked such tenets.” Comprising 23 stories and poems, the book also includes accompanying vignettes offering insight into the authors’ motivation for their work.

Topics: Gothic Dreams, Author Interview, Beyond & Within, This Way Lies Madness

The Silence Spectrum: From Mumbai Noise to London Hush

Topics: Between Worlds, Writer in Residence, lifeinlondon

APHRODITE IS OUT NOW!

Topics: Q&A, Author Interview, Authors, Myths, Gods and Immortals