Thank you for visiting Haunted Waters Press. We are an independent publisher located in the shadows of the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia along the banks of the Shenandoah River.

Our goal is to bring to our readers engaging fiction in the forms of poetry, prose poetry, and fiction. While some selections will be available in electronic formats and traditional print, others will be offered as handbound originals and paper ephemera as we strive to celebrate the art of the book and letterpress printing. Our print studio consists of three presses including the Cooks Victor, the Baltimore #14 and a vintage sign press.

Our annual literary journal, From the Depths, featuring works of prose and poetry, is released in the fall of each year in print and digital formats. You will also find a steady stream of online literary content from our contributing authors featured within the pages of SPLASH! New publications coming soon!

We are interested in stories that entertain us, stories that captivate us, but most of all, stories that haunt us. Thank you for visiting. Feel free to wallow awhile.

July, 2011

Dear Reader,

We at Haunted Waters Press have always had a strong connection to water. From the thundering downpours of Nebraska to the rain showers of Washington, from the Platte to the Columbia to the Charles, from the Atlantic to the Pacific and the many waters in between, all of these have made an impression on us as individuals and as writers. But only recently have we learned the true nature of the impact of water on our lives and on our words.

In the spring of 2001, a family took up residence along the banks of the Shenandoah River. We played along her shores, caught frogs and fish, and skipped stones on her surface. We battled her when she rose and mourned for her when she fell. We made memories. We discovered words in the shallows and stories in the depths.

A few years later, we suffered a loss. A loss so great that we found ourselves hiding from the world, hiding from the pain, hiding from her—the one who held the memories, the words, and the stories. Her banks too steep or her waters too swift, we turned away from her. We turned away from our words and the stories formed from the memories. Time passed as we stood still. But then we heard her calling. We tried to ignore her, but her voice haunted us until we answered. When we returned she was waiting. We carved a new spot along her banks and a bench from a fallen tree. It was here where we rested. It was here where we healed. Eventually, it was here where we found our words again.

We believe that just as water is essential to all life on Earth, so too is it to the written word. When the banks are too steep or the current too swift, we return to the water. Here we will find our words in the shallows or floating on the tide and from the depths a story will surely rise.

Best regards,
Susan Warren Utley
Savannah Renée Spidalieri
Editors, Haunted Waters Press