
Charlie J. Eskew
Charlie J. Eskew is an author from Columbus, OH. His novel Tales of the Astonishing Black Spark, winner of the Foreword Indies 2018 Multicultural award, was published by Lanternfish Press. His novella When The Light Lay Still, a prequel to the Judge Dredd universe was published in 2019 by Rebellion Publishing. He is an Assistant Editor of Fiction with BreakBread Literacy Project, an alumni of the VONA writing workshop, and a member of Phi Beta Sigma, Incorporated.
Photo credit: Leland Leger
Announcements & Events
We’re delighted to reveal the cover design for Hayden Casey’s debut novel, A Harvest of Furies. Design by Kimberly Glyder with art direction by Christine Neulieb.
Lanternfish Press is pleased to announce the acquisition of Amy DeBellis’s new novella, The Widening Gyre, for publication in Spring-Summer 2026.
Lanternfish Press is pleased to announce the acquisition of Brandon White’s debut novella, Older Than Ghosts, for publication in Fall-Winter 2025.
Audio rights for Megan Okonsky’s debut novel The Barefoot Followers of Sweet Potato Grace have been sold to Tantor Media.
Lanternfish Press is pleased to announce the acquisition of a new novella by Kenneth Hunter Gordon, The Girl Who Made a Mouse From Her Grandfather’s Whiskers, for publication in Fall-Winter 2025.
We’re delighted to reveal the cover design for Megan Okonsky’s debut novel, The Barefoot Followers of Sweet Potato Grace. Design by Kimberly Glyder with art direction by Christine Neulieb.
Lanternfish Press is pleased to announce the acquisition of Hayden Casey's debut novel, A Harvest of Furies, for publication in Fall-Winter 2025.
We’re delighted to reveal the cover design for Jessica Lévai’s sophomore novella, The Glass Garden. Design by Kimberly Glyder with art direction by Christine Neulieb.
Audio rights for Andrew Katz’s sophomore novel My Therapist Says This Grief Journal Is a Good Idea have been sold to Tantor Media.
Lanternfish Press is pleased to announce the acquisition of Beastly: An Anthology of Shapeshifting Fairy Tales, edited by Jennifer Pullen, for publication in Fall-Winter 2025.
by Charlie J. Eskew
Recipient of the Foreword INDIES
Bronze Award for Multicultural Fiction
“Buy Tales of the Astonishing Black Spark for the superheroes; read on for the humor and the wisdom. This is a rich and furious debut novel.”
—Daniel A. Hoyt, author of This Book Is Not for You
and Then We Saw the Flames
Trapped in a dead-end job in his Ohio hometown, watching the girl of his dreams move on to a glamorous new life in a big city—Donald McDougal’s aimlessness has held him back for a long time. When a lightning strike grants him superhuman powers, he jumps at his chance to finally be somebody. But the new abilities and the pursuit of superheroic fame come with a price tag, and it may not be one he can afford.
This wry debut is at once a fanboy’s homage to the history of superhero storytelling in America and a keen-eyed satire of those same stories, raising questions about race and privilege that are becoming impossible to ignore.