The Goreletter Has Ended (and What’s Happening Now)

If you’re reading this, you might be curious: what happened to your newsletter, Arnzen? When did you last send out The Goreletter? I clicked on a link to subscribe and it took me to a dead webpage. Is my subscription still valid?

The instability of the internet strikes again. I am ending The Goreletter, as we know it. This website continues with sporadic updates about publications and events, and I’ve got some fresh ideas moving forward. But the newsletter is hereby retired.

So here’s what has been happening. The last issue was sent quite a while ago: in January 2022. The short explanation for why is that the service I was using for The Goreletter — Revue — was canceled upon the pushy takeover of Twitter (who owned Revue) by Elon Musk. And after having to change services at least three times over the years, I’ve become fed up with such disastrous things that happen completely out of my control. Anyone who uses twitter knows the damage that this takeover has caused to the site, especially to creatives who are trying to connect with readers and let people know about their latest books and films and what not. I have always tried to use twitter as not merely a way to keep people updated, but also as a creative playground for short-short poems, very short stories (limited to a few hundred characters), and weird art/commentary. I still use it for that once in a while. But I’m eyeing the rowboats and — sadly — rarely post on twitter/X anymore….

In any case, don’t worry: my archive of all back issues of The Goreletter are housed on this very site, in a place called The Repository. If you ever wanted to read my thoughts on phlegm or the negative aspects of being a cyclops — or just wanted to read some weird poetry — peruse away.

The Goreletter won the Bram Stoker Award for Superior Achievement in Alternative Forms twenty years ago (2004). That meant the world to me and still does. I’ve always been proud of my newsletter for offering unique elements (like original poems and stories, reviews, humor, contests and more) that distinguish it from the typical “author news” publicity tool. For me, it was a place to play worry-free about editorial needs, or a place to share things with readers that might not be normally publishable elsewhere. I loved the responses I got from this, and I produced many creative pieces I never would have made without it. (In fact, many are collected in my collection, The Gorelets Omnibus … and surprise, I’m preparing a sequel!).

But as is the case with most e-newsletters, subscriptions aren’t stable, people cancel their email accounts without telling anyone, and my own email server eventually got listed as “spam” by search engines which often led to ANY email I sent out from my gorelets address getting bounced or filtered into spam folders unbeknownst to sender and recipient alike. This had the “happy” side-benefit of interrupting my communication with some publishers, and even cost me some placements and sales. All of this was very disappointing to me. It soon became nearly impossible to track down where I’m being spam-listed or not, and I frankly have no idea if the issues I sent out even made it to their destinations.

On top of that, my “prompt engine on the dark side” for goth creators, called Diabolical Strategies (launched ten years ago, as a supplement to my book Instigations: Creative Prompts on the Dark Side), also became riddled with difficult code glitches and I was therefore no longer able to maintain it.

And just last year, I had to put my ebook publishing imprint, Mastication Publications, on hold, since my partner of many years, artist Renate Arnzen, lost her life. Very sad. Very disruptive to everything. I took a break from this cycle of loss. And I’m still taking one.

While the past year for me has been full of amazing experiences in the horror genre — from co-chairing StokerCon 2023 to teaching a horror film class at Seton Hill University to having my creative papers and books permanently archived in the Horror Studies special collection at the University of Pittsburgh (news soon!) — I honestly have not been writing as much over the past year or two as I used to, as I mentally regroup and rebuild from suffering personal losses and private changes. Everyone needs a break, and it’s good to reflect quietly in the darkness once in a while. Right?

Well… a little bit. I’m creatively restless, as any writer would be. My idea notebook has been brimming, I have some clever things percolating that I can’t wait to share, I have been testing the patience of publishers who are requesting things, and I am also itching to return to sending regular reports to my friends and readers both!

Although I plan to continue to publish short-shorts and poetry here and there, I’m dedicating 2024-5 to writing longer pieces and getting some book-length projects I’ve already started to completion. IF The Goreletter ever relaunches — possibly “rebranded” under a different name or shifted into a new medium (yes, I’m thinking it’s time for a one of a kind podcast! you with me?) — I will post news here and also alert people who were subscribed to the most recent mailing list. (I did download those addresses before the server went kaflooey; not sure how many of them will still work). You can also just email me and I’ll add you to the announcement list.

In the mean time, keep watch of these pages for any major news. I’m not as active in social media as some are, but instagram has kind of become my home there, so follow me on Instagram at @MikeArnzen

And a huge THANK YOU to the hundreds of kind readers and morbidly curious friends who subscribed! You instigated me. You still are. Many unspeakable appreciations. Stay tuned!