The Stygian Society

Welcome to The Stygian Society, a Montréal-based small press rooted in the ethos of 'art for art's sake.' Here, we celebrate a timeless sensibility—when books were beautifully bound, and getting published meant having true literary talent, not a high follower count.

Our catalog offers dark fiction, philosophy, and modern classics, all championing human creativity and staying untouched by AI.

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What We Do

The Stygian Society is a traditional publisher with indie ethics. Founded by authors for authors, our headlining creators receive 50% royalties and are involved throughout every part of the publication process.

Headline Publications

Supporting Authors

Should your novel be chosen as a major release, be ready for a true publication partnership! From revisions, to design, to marketing and beyond, you get a say in the final way your work is presented to the world. We also offer 50/50 royalties. Books are published via the Scriptorium crowdfunding platform.

RESIST

Apparel Against AI

In 2024, The Stygian Society launched a writing challenge in resistance to the proliferation of AI in the creative world. The Order of the Written Word champions human creativity, as does The Society as a whole.

In 2025, we are furthering our anti-AI efforts through the creation of our RESIST line. RESIST is created in aid of forming an official, international certification for authors to add to their works confirming they were not created with the use of generative AI.

The Zine

Discovering New Voices

After the release of our first publication "The Stygian Collection", there was demand to continue producing anthologies. To continue growing our community and keep the anthology spirit alive, we launched The Stygian Zine. The Zine is released twice per year in January and July and features a range of themes from every day darkness, to witches, to the Old Gods themselves.

Events Calendar

Spring Conclave
Sat, Mar 01
The Stygian Discord
Mar 01, 2025, 9:00 a.m. EST – Mar 31, 2025, 11:50 p.m. EDT
The Stygian Discord
Mar 01, 2025, 9:00 a.m. EST – Mar 31, 2025, 11:50 p.m. EDT
The Stygian Discord
Looking for a challenge? The Order of the Written Word is hosting its Spring Conclave starting March 1st. For 31 days, the goal is to write one hour every day. Join our community on Discord, and get writing!
RSVP

Scriven Montreal
Sat, May 24
Montréal
May 24, 2025, 9:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m. EDT
Montréal, 1439 Rue Sainte-Catherine, Montréal, QC H3G 1S6, Canada
May 24, 2025, 9:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m. EDT
Montréal, 1439 Rue Sainte-Catherine, Montréal, QC H3G 1S6, Canada
A convention for lovers of pens, writing, & tea.
RSVP

Summer Conclave
Tue, Jul 01
The Stygian Discord
Jul 01, 2025, 9:00 a.m. EDT – Jul 31, 2025, 11:50 p.m. EDT
The Stygian Discord
Jul 01, 2025, 9:00 a.m. EDT – Jul 31, 2025, 11:50 p.m. EDT
The Stygian Discord
Looking for a challenge? The Order of the Written Word is hosting its Summer Conclave starting July 1st. For 31 days, the goal is to write one hour every day. Join our community on Discord, and get writing!
RSVP

Issue three of The Stygian Zine: SLICES OF LIFE is officially available.
PDF downloads are only $5CAD so head on over to stygiansociety.com and get your copy of this intense collection featuring stories, poetry and art from 10 creators.
We also have a special bundle available where you can get issues 1-3 for $10!
Finally, we have received SO many submissions for future issues, we would love to make this zine a more frequent publication. However, we can only do this if we can sell copies. So get your zine to support more publications and more creators! Thank you 🖤
*Print issues pending due to Lulu's exorbitant print fees. You don't want to pay $34CAD for a magazine and we don't want to charge you that.
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#montreal #smallpress #stygiansociety #writingcommunity #indieauthor #fiction #writersofig #horrorfiction #darkfiction #philosophy #stygiancollection #booksthatmakeyouthink #literaryzine #stygianzine

First lines are important. This is the first line from 'Paperweight' by Pae Veo, which also just so happens to be the first story in The Stygian Collection. Have you read our debut publication yet? If so, what did you think?
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#stygiansociety #stygiancollection #paeveo #canadianpublishers #thoughts

In 2025 our main goal is to take The Stygian Society to the next level. Part of this is forming our Creative Advisory Board and expanding our team! Our Creative Advisory Board, composed of respected Canadian arts professionals, brings objective expertise to ensure fair, unbiased publication decisions, offering valuable insights beyond our close-knit founding team.

Today we'd like to introduce you to @biginsanehappy
Born in New York state and having lived in Kansas, California, South Korea, and Spain, Jonathan Burrello is a Montreal-based cartoonist and illustrator best known for the comics Barb and Haunted Safari. Some of his published works include Straight from the Pit of Hell, Year of the Bat, the Bédélys nominated Barb, Bloodbath & Beyond, as well as collaborative work on Funny Bones, Werewolves Don’t Celebrate Hanukkah, and Erybyggja Saga: A Tale from Old Iceland.

Join us in giving him a warm Stygian welcome!
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#stygiansociety #creativeadvisoryboard #jonathanburrello #montreal #canadianpublisher

Issue 3 of The Stygian Zine will be out on January 19th. Will you read these Slices of Life?
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#stygiansociety #stygianzine #darkthoughts #poetry #literaryzine #montrealpublisher #canadianpublisher

Introducing our featured artist for The Stygian Zine's third issue: Isaac Grandier! Be sure to follow him @anuthora , and see more of his gorgeous pen and ink work. [Photo by the artist]
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#stygiansociety #stygianzine #literaryzine #smallpress #montrealbased #smallbusiness #penandink #darkart #slicesoflife

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The Stygian Society

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