Violet Lichen
An Apex Book Company imprint
About Violet Lichen
Dark & Weird Stories
Founded in 2024, Violet Lichen Books is the sister imprint of Apex Book Company. Created by Marissa van Uden to give a home to those dark, literary, weird books that might be a little outside of the norm.
The imprint focuses on speculative ecofiction, Weird and New Weird, and moody science fiction with uniquely memorable characters.
Our goal is to work closely with authors in an ethical and caring way, and to get more brilliant, weird fiction into more readers' hands.
Lichen is not only beautiful but it stands for mutually beneficial symbiosis — the kind of publishing and community we want to be a part of. We believe in uplifting marginalized voices and creating space for stories that challenge, unsettle, and transform.
Annual anthology
ECO: The Year's Best Speculative Ecofiction
Violet Lichen is the publisher of ECO, the first-ever annual "best of" anthology for ecofiction. It showcases some of the finest stories published in this genre across hundreds of magazines, journals, and collections every year.
Meet the Team
Editor in Chief
Marissa van Uden
Grew up in New Zealand and now lives in Vermont in a little cabin in the woods. She loves wild things, night hikes, and eerie forests. Her anthology credits include Strange Libations, Strange Machines, Strange Locations, and The Off-Season: An Anthology of Coastal New Weird.
Managing Editor
Nichole Lightner
A weird writer and editor living in the edges of Appalachia. She loves to talk about niche hyperfocus, especially abandoned places, ARGs, and lost media. Her work appears in Maudlin House, 34 Orchard, Twin Pies Literary, Thirteen Podcast, and Inner Worlds.
ECO Anthology Judges
R.L. Summerling
Part-time fiction writer and full-time squirrel watcher from Southeast London. Fiction in Year's Best Dark Fantasy and Horror Volume 5, Interzone, Maudlin House, and Seize the Press.
Guan Un
Australian-Chinese writer of speculative fiction based in Sydney. Work featured in LeVar Burton Reads, Year's Best Fantasy Vol 2, Strange Horizons, and more.
Alana Perrin
Originally from Los Angeles but drifts from city to city across the US. Loves hiking with her dog and reading with her cat. Slush reader for Apex Magazine.
Colton Kekoa Neves
Gay, Native Hawaiian author chasing the high of believing toy chests could fly. Clarion Writers' Workshop graduate (2024). Avid Magic player.
Sasha Brown
Stoker-nominated author with work in Passages North, Split Lip, Bourbon Penn, and Pseudopod. Knows three cool facts about frogs.
Ende Mac
Public defense attorney and slipstream author in the Great Plains. Maintains a stuffed possum's Instagram page. Generally embraces the weird and wonderful.