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Those Who Scream: A Novel by 30 Writers
Molly Hammersmith, a woman seeking a serene change of pace, moves from Kentucky to southern Georgia to work as a cemetery groundskeeper. However, there are people (and things) that are not as welcoming of her arrival. How long will she remain here, and what may keep her in this mysterious corner of the world? That is, until she learns how to scream. Welcome to Scarlet Maple Cemetery.
Written during the traditional NaNoWriMo period (the month of November), 30 writers were tasked to write a complete, unprompted story full of eccentric characters, unforeseen plot twists, and shuddering undertones. Track the journey online with #antiwrimo.
Written during the traditional NaNoWriMo period (the month of November), 30 writers were tasked to write a complete, unprompted story full of eccentric characters, unforeseen plot twists, and shuddering undertones. Track the journey online with #antiwrimo.
142 pages, Paperback
Published January 1, 2022
About the author
Josh Dale
11 books31 followersAuthor of RAGE: STORIES, a fiction chapbook, DUALITY LIES BENEATH, a poetry collection, and THE LIGHT TO NEVER BE SNUFFED, a novella. Indie publisher of Thirty West for 10+ years.
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
April 18, 2022
Full Review
Those Who Scream is an interesting experiment in collaborative writing that I personally think is a success. It's a surreal noir mystery that goes in odd and unexpected directions while remaining an engaging read. It also introduced me to several authors who I'm now interested in reading more of. I would certainly recommend it.
Those Who Scream is an interesting experiment in collaborative writing that I personally think is a success. It's a surreal noir mystery that goes in odd and unexpected directions while remaining an engaging read. It also introduced me to several authors who I'm now interested in reading more of. I would certainly recommend it.
July 18, 2022
An enticing creepy story written by 30 authors that still amazingly flows really well and keeps the readers attention with interesting plot points.
April 28, 2022
This novel, created by thirty authors during November 2021, suffers from a Halloween hangover of the best kind. The story features a cemetery, undead fiends, a biker experiencing extreme ocular horror, a friendly chicken, a plethora of generational trauma, a little black cat, and so much more.
Each author chose whether delve into the past, soak up the atmosphere while considering the current conflict, drive the plot forward, invoke a fever dream, or explore a secondary character’s perspective.
The transitions between writers aren’t always completely seamless, but the spirt of the story remains strong and super spooky.
Each author chose whether delve into the past, soak up the atmosphere while considering the current conflict, drive the plot forward, invoke a fever dream, or explore a secondary character’s perspective.
The transitions between writers aren’t always completely seamless, but the spirt of the story remains strong and super spooky.
November 12, 2023
one of the authors is my cousin :)
November 27, 2025
I was provided with a digital copy of this book, courtesy of the publisher. All views and opinions are my own.
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One of the great things about the written word, and the story as a whole, is that historically it has lent itself, perhaps it would be better to say evolved with, the sharing and cooperation of different story tellers. Every person, every imagination will bring something new to that ageless circle where stories are told. Those Who Scream continues that timeless tradition, 30 writers came together to collaborate and craft a Horror Story. The tale of Molly Hammersmith, is without a doubt gripping at the outset, the collaborating writers clearly worked to maintain the flow of the greater story arch, between each writers chapter.
A worthy effort to be sure. That said, for myself, there was a certain point where the train, so to speak, lost steam, went off the tracks. I think perhaps it was the changing voice or tone, that came with each chapter. The end result being, I was able to finish the book, and appreciate the greater story told, but did not feel the long term impact, from start to finish. That brings me right back to what I love about writers, about stories. Books like this showcase people willing to experiment, try something different, knowing it will hook some, and not others. Then each writer takes a breath, stretches, and sets their mind to work on the next story that's bubbling in their cranium.
Keep imagining, keep writing, keep telling stories.
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One of the great things about the written word, and the story as a whole, is that historically it has lent itself, perhaps it would be better to say evolved with, the sharing and cooperation of different story tellers. Every person, every imagination will bring something new to that ageless circle where stories are told. Those Who Scream continues that timeless tradition, 30 writers came together to collaborate and craft a Horror Story. The tale of Molly Hammersmith, is without a doubt gripping at the outset, the collaborating writers clearly worked to maintain the flow of the greater story arch, between each writers chapter.
A worthy effort to be sure. That said, for myself, there was a certain point where the train, so to speak, lost steam, went off the tracks. I think perhaps it was the changing voice or tone, that came with each chapter. The end result being, I was able to finish the book, and appreciate the greater story told, but did not feel the long term impact, from start to finish. That brings me right back to what I love about writers, about stories. Books like this showcase people willing to experiment, try something different, knowing it will hook some, and not others. Then each writer takes a breath, stretches, and sets their mind to work on the next story that's bubbling in their cranium.
Keep imagining, keep writing, keep telling stories.
June 13, 2023
This is a short novel composed of thirty chapters by thirty different authors, about one to two thousand words each. The idea came about in response to the stress and high expectations of NaNoWriMo, which challenges people to write 50,000 words during the month of November. Editor and contributor Josh Dale calls the experiment AntiWriMo.
If this exact book was written by a single person I would say it lacked focus and jumped around too abruptly between POVs and time periods. But this is entirely to be expected with thirty cooks in the kitchen and such idiosyncrasies are often precisely what make literary experiments fun. The drawback for me personally, however, is that different writers have different visions, and what started out as a basic horror story about a woman going to work at a graveyard steadily morphed into a morass of prophecy, family trauma, generational curses, and some hallucinatory psychological journey rendered in purple prose like "disparate trenches of despair." It felt like some of the participants got carried away and tried to tackle something more ambitious than what you can pull off with a small word limit, a time constraint, and in collaboration with multiple other people. AntiWriMo is certainly a neat concept, but I feel some more moderation of the process (like maybe a simple preliminary outline) would be beneficial.
If this exact book was written by a single person I would say it lacked focus and jumped around too abruptly between POVs and time periods. But this is entirely to be expected with thirty cooks in the kitchen and such idiosyncrasies are often precisely what make literary experiments fun. The drawback for me personally, however, is that different writers have different visions, and what started out as a basic horror story about a woman going to work at a graveyard steadily morphed into a morass of prophecy, family trauma, generational curses, and some hallucinatory psychological journey rendered in purple prose like "disparate trenches of despair." It felt like some of the participants got carried away and tried to tackle something more ambitious than what you can pull off with a small word limit, a time constraint, and in collaboration with multiple other people. AntiWriMo is certainly a neat concept, but I feel some more moderation of the process (like maybe a simple preliminary outline) would be beneficial.
December 20, 2022
A spectacle of writerly acumen, instinct, and genre-bending odds, a novel written in a piggy-back style by 30 people is destined to be unexpected. The team upheld core themes, consistent character development, and some twists in the plot. Go into it with low stakes and you’re bound to enjoy it.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews