Final Statement on Poltergeist Press, et all

My initial statement can be read here.

My follow-up statement can be read here.

After that was announced. Rights for Dissonant Harmonies were reverted, and Bev Vincent and I sold it elsewhere. Geoff Cooper wanted some time to consider the reversion clause for Shades, since he is not plugged in to the business and wanted to talk to people and determine the facts before signing it. Then Anna Hayward of Poltergeist press announced that she was shutting down the company.

A few weeks later, Anna contacted several of us and indicated that she would like to keep the Russian language imprint open. It was her company — not Matt’s. She assured us that Matt would not be involved in any way with the production.

And so Jeff Strand, myself, and Mary SanGiovanni released a third statement last month, which can be read here.

This will be my final statement, because quite frankly, I am sick of talking about this.

This statement is my own. I do not speak for Mary SanGiovanni (whose own final statement can be read here). I do not speak for Robert Ford, Bev Vincent, Jeff Strand, Wrath James White, Edward Lee, John Boden, Wesley Southard, Tim Meyer, Ronald Kelly or anyone else who has been impacted by this clusterfuck.

This statement will include foul language. It will include my personal opinions.

My personal opinions follow:

1. I support the victims. I have always supported the victims. Anyone who has listened to The Horror Show for the last 6 years knows that I support the victims. Anybody who has been following my career since 1996 knows that I support the victims. I was the first person to report on the then-whispered allegations involving Ed Kramer. I had my then budding-career threatened for doing so. I gave zero fucks then and I give zero fucks now. I will always support the victims. I myself am a victim, and several of the people most important in my life have been victims.

If you do not believe that I support the victims, then I respect your decision. Stop buying my books and listening to my podcasts.

2. I support and believe the victims in this case. I have seen people intimating online that the most vocal victim, Cassie, “made this all up” and others saying that she and the other victims “just want their 15 minutes of fame”. I don’t believe that. But I’ll tell you what, motherfuckers…lets buy into your conspiracy theory for a minute. Let’s say Cassie made it all up for 15 minutes of fame.

Mary SanGiovanni didn’t make it up. I know. I’ve seen the evidence. And Mary’s got an accomplished 20-year career. She doesn’t need fifteen minutes of fame. I believe Mary SanGiovanni. I believe Cassie. And I believe the other women who came forward.

If my belief in these women bothers you, then I respect your decision. Stop buying my books and listening to my podcasts.

(And to the fat fuck who looks like a dropout from Juggalo college and keeps repeating this “15 minutes of fame” bullshit, I’m not going to name you here, because you don’t deserve even a second of fame).

3. I am empathetic to Matt Hayward. Do not misread that. What Matt did was wrong. What Matt did was inexcusable. It was indefensible. Matt’s actions impacted the victims. Matt’s actions impacted my own household. Matt absolutely needs to face the consequences for those actions. He needs to understand the totality of their impact. But Matt is also not Harvey Weinstein. He is not Bill Cosby. I believe degrees and nuance are important in these discussions. I believe the Matt Hayward I knew is capable of change and growth. I believe he should be afforded that opportunity, in private.

If my belief that Matt Hayward should be allowed to better himself in private and find a path forward in life bothers you, then I respect your decision. Stop buying my books and listening to my podcasts.

4. I believe that the women impacted by this should be guaranteed safety and comfort and support. I do not believe they should have to interact with Matt Hayward. I do not believe they should have to worry if he’ll be working with their publisher, or their website, or their co-author, or that they will encounter him at a convention.

If my belief that these women should be guaranteed safety and comfort and support bothers you, then I respect your decision. Stop buying my books and listening to my podcasts.

5. I believe that each and every twist and turn in this clusterfuck has been exacerbated by the actions — both in public and in private — of Kelli Owen and several individuals close to her. I think their behavior and actions — regardless of their good intentions — have only made things worse for the victims, for Anna, for Matt, and for the other authors and translators and investors who are involved. I have permanently cut all association with Kelli.

If my disassociation from Kelli bothers you, then I respect your decision. Stop buying my books and listening to my podcasts.

6. I have tried very hard to support Anna Hayward. I do not believe she should have to suffer for the actions of her husband or the actions of people associated with her press. I do believe she needs to address those actions, and I have shared that belief with her. But I also think the public needs to be mindful that she is working a full-time job, in addition to Poltergeist Press, and dealing with the ramifications of how all this impacts her marriage. I do not believe the public -- be it readers, writers, friends, or fans -- has a right to demand to know what is going on in her marriage or personal life. We can express our opinion on Poltergeist Press, but we should also remember that behind Poltergeist Press is a woman who was impacted by all of this just as much — if not more — as the other women Matt Hayward’s actions impacted. She’s working two jobs, living in a different time zone than most of you, and communicating in a language that is not her first. She’s exhausted and dealing with a lot. She is not ducking questions. She has stated publicly (and reiterated to me) that Matt Hayward will NOT be involved with Poltergeist Press. She has stated publicly (and reiterated to me) that the English-language books currently available on Amazon should not be available, and she is working with Amazon support to correct that. As somebody who has dealt with Amazon support many times, I believe her. I have spoken with Anna many times throughout the last few months, and I know where her heart is. I know that she is hurting. I know that she is told conflicting things by conflicting people. I believe she can be afforded some empathy/sympathy.

If my belief that we afford her some empathy/sympathy bothers you, then I respect your decision. Stop buying my books and listening to my podcasts.

7. As stated before, I don’t believe that Anna or the translators she employees or her investors should suffer financially for the actions of her husband or the actions of independent authors who may or may not be published by her press. I also don’t think myself, Mary, Jeff, Geoff, Wrath, Wes or anyone else I mentioned should suffer for them, either. However, it has become increasingly clear that we are and will.

So, I have communicated to Anna today, and this is where things stand:

As stated above, the rights reverted on Dissonant Harmonies. They had not yet reverted on Shades, or the Russian edition of Dark Hollow, or the in-production Russian editions of The Rising or Ghost Walk.

I will allow Poltergeist Press to keep those books in print. I will donate 100% of my royalties from them to RAINN (the Rape, Abuse and Incest National Network). Each time I donate those royalties, I will give a full accounting of the amount donated to the public.

Anna and I have agreed that if at any point Matt Hayward is involved in the production of these books, or confidential information about them is shared with Kelli Owen, it will be considered a breach of contract, and the rights will immediately revert to me.

I know that this situation will not please everyone, but try to understand there are legal and professional obligations involved. Here is an example I shared with someone else in the last 24 hours, that might help those of you not “in the business” understand: DC Comics publishes me. DC Comics also publishes Warren Ellis, who is alleged to have been the primary in the biggest case of sexual harassment our industry has ever seen. I can't just go to DC Comics and say, "Cancel everything of mine because you publish Warren Ellis and I don't want to be associated with him." It just doesn't work like that. It would be great if it did, but it doesn't.

So, to repeat: I will allow Poltergeist Press to keep those four books in print. I will donate 100% of my royalties from them to RAINN (the Rape, Abuse and Incest National Network). Each time I donate those royalties, I will give a full accounting of the amount donated to the public. Anna and I have agreed that if at any point Matt Hayward is involved in the production of these books, or confidential information about them is shared with Kelli Owen, it will be considered a breach of contract, and the rights will immediately revert to me.

If you disagree with my decision to keep the books in print and donate 100% of my monies to the Rape, Abuse and Incest National Network, then I respect your decision. Stop buying my books and listening to my podcasts.

This will be my final statement in this matter.

— Brian Keene