OUR site, The Bearded Scribe Press, is a website, publisher, and blog dedicated to the broad genre of Speculative Fiction. A diverse community of writers, readers, film buffs, and creative souls, we are bound together by our common love of the genre. In this community, we strive to bring you the best of the craft, from classic to contemporary, from the page to the airwaves, and all dimensions in between.
IN 2011, in the aftershock of unexpectedly being let go from his bartending job of 7 years (a mixture of someone else’s greed and politics and the unwillingness to play their twisted games), Joshua decided to take the time to finish a manuscript he had been working on since high school (and more dedicated throughout college). In the process of working diligently on his manuscript, he also started a writing and reading blog that documented both his writing journey and his exploration of other books currently on the market. He took breaks from writing to read other short stories and novels from other beginner and up-and-coming authors, like himself, in the realm of Speculative Fiction.
He dubbed the blog The Bearded Scribe, eponymously named for the hair that had donned his face since he could grow it. Shortly after he started it, he decided that the content would be much better by bringing on other content writers and book reviewers to the blog. One of those people he reached out to was his friend from college and choir sister, Elizabeth, who was a voracious reader with a Masters Degree in Library Sciences. Though the blog grew, its focus always remained writer-oriented. In fact, Elizabeth was the genius behind the standardized format of the Spotlights appearing on the blog—dissecting works into true literary elements (such as world building) from which a budding writer could learn—in addition to creating other countless special features, a passion for the blog which quickly turned her from contributor to Assistant Editor.
When the team got a review request from R.S. McCoy for her book, Sparks, the premise intrigued Joshua, so he opted to take on the review himself. The story was admittedly brilliant and inspiring—the editing, however, was far from perfect, so he reached out to the author with a proposal: knowing that she had two more books in that series alone, Joshua offered to edit her Sparks manuscript for free in exchange for payment to edit the next two. It was after editing the Sparks Saga trilogy that Rachel (RS) suggested that Joshua compile and edit an anthology—and from that moment came the inception of The Bearded Scribe Press and its transformation from writing and review blog to a full-fledged publishing house only made sense to the Founder and Executive Editor, especially with the addition of its Editing, Coaching, and Design Services.
The Bearded Scribe Press, LLC is an independent publisher of quality Speculative Fiction. We aim to become a platform for emerging writers to get discovered by the mainstream and inversely, through becoming a staple in the literary community, becoming the source for readers to discover emerging talent in the Speculative Fiction realm.
When searching for an artist to transform his logo concept into reality, Joshua had to look no further than the talented Luke Spooner. A short description of the design lent itself to Luke nailing the artwork in one try.
With a name like The Bearded Scribe Press, one would probably expect some bearded bloke with a quill as the logo—not wyverns. Wyverns mean a great deal, symbolically, to The Bearded Scribe Press’ focus on Speculative Fiction. Its two legs allow it to stand resolutely in the realm of reality, while its wings allow the creature to take flight into the realm of fantasy. Oh, and they have beards… of sorts.
Although there is is no sign of a bearded bloke in the logo, there is a quill—offset by its counterpart, the sword. We’re a strong believer of the famous adage of one being stronger than the other. We’ll let you guess which one.
Don’t you hate it when companies write in dead languages? Yeah, we do, too! But we couldn’t help doing it anyway. It means “Opening Minds and Worlds with the Written Word.” We believe that by opening a book, you transport yourself into a world written on the pages, which is why we focus a lot on world building. We also believe that by opening a book, you open the mind. Seek knowledge and never stop questioning.
