Grendel Press is excited to host Hal Dietrich! Dietrich’s Parasite Cityintroduces a new dark fantasy, horror novel into our collection in 2025. His fiction explores themes of gender, sexuality, performance, and violence, and his creative nonfiction explores similar themes, blending personal narrative with film analysis. He will soon receive his MFA from the University of South Florida.
Dietrich is a trans, neurodivergent writer that grew up in Hawaii, and finds himself missing it everyday. When he’s not writing, Hal is engaging in his worst filmbro instincts. Hal’s favorite Batman portrayal is Robert Pattinson’s. Commentary about some of his favorite horror movies and books can be found online at Horror Homeroom and at Outsider: A Stephen King zine. He can be found on social media on Tiktok and Instagram with the handle: @cha0ticr0b0tic and on X, as @hedwig5150.
Parasite City takes the audience through a gritty world of supernatural struggles and relentless corruption, with Blake Cassady as he navigates dark alleys and hostile streets, taking on cases most would avoid. Despite his cynicism, Cas is driven by a fierce commitment to justice for the overlooked and oppressed, though he has little taste for grand heroics. A chilling vision of two fused figures, one a notorious city agitator named Charlie, sets him on a harrowing path through encounters with witches, minotaurs, and demons. Along the way, Cas faces brutal battles, distrusts false revolutionaries, and uncovers the twisted motives lurking behind his city’s masked intentions.
