Due to a lack of time in the day, I don’t get to write about publishing news nearly as much as I like to. Therefor, I’m thrilled to be able to have some time today to share this one with you!
Violet Lichen Books, the sister imprint of Apex Book Company, has announced that Nichole Lightner will be stepping in as the new Managing Editor.
Lightner, a horror writer and editor from Appalachia, brings her experience as the managing editor of The Drabblecast online speculative magazine to her new role. At Violet Lichen, she’ll oversee production, marketing, and distribution while working alongside Editor-in-Chief Marissa van Uden on acquisitions.
“I’m thrilled to bring my own filament symbiotically to the Violet Lichen’s cortex,” Lightner said of the appointment.
Van Uden added, “Nichole is a beloved member of the horror and dark fiction writing community and a brilliant editor who cares about the authors she works with. She’ll bring a special spark to our team. I’m so looking forward to working closely with her on Violet Lichen’s future titles.”
Lightner’s fiction and editorial work has appeared in Maudlin House, 34 Orchard, Twin Pies Literary, Thirteen Podcast, and Inner Worlds. She is also active on Instagram (@nicholeon) and Bluesky (@nicholeon.bsky.social), where she shares everything from abandoned places and ARGs to lost media, and happily stalking your pet photos!
Founded in 2024 by van Uden, Violet Lichen Books focuses on dark, literary speculative titles that might not fit neatly into genre boundaries. The imprint specializes in ecofiction, Weird and New Weird, and moody science fiction with unforgettable characters. It is also the publisher of ECO: The Year’s Best Speculative Ecofiction, the first annual best-of anthology dedicated to the ecofiction subgenre.
As part of the Apex Book Company family, Violet Lichen is distributed by Independent Book Publishers. Apex itself, owned by Jason Sizemore, has published acclaimed works of science fiction, fantasy, and horror and is home to the Hugo Award-nominated Apex Magazine.
