Skeleton Crew Creator Joshua Pangborn Publishes First Book
Two-time Bear World Magazine Award winner Joshua R. Pangborn, creator of SideKick Productions, is taking a leap into the world of self-publishing with his first book, Homo Phobias which was released today.
Homo Phobias is a campy, queer, fat-positive collection of short horror stories spawned from the mind of Joshua R, Pangborn and his editor Dhafir Jackson. It features nine original short stories, with two previously published stories: ‘The Court of King Dong’ from That Old House: The Bathroom and ‘Crumbs’ from The Book of Queer Saints: Volume I. Each tale tackles a different facet of the queer quest for love, family, and acceptance under the guise of madness, mothers, and magic.
Joshua is of course known to the bear community on account of his work at SideKick Productions, an award-winning NYC based production company dedicated to telling queer, fat-positive, and sex-positive stories. Their flagship series, Skeleton Crew – which focuses on fat gay bears Hunter and Anthony, has been seen by millions around the world.
We sit down with Joshua to talk about this exciting new project. Check out our conversation below.
John Hernandez (JH): Hi Joshua! Thanks for joining me! What can readers expect from Homo Phobias and why would you encourage readers to buy it?
Joshua Pangborn (JP): Fans of the films and stories at SideKick Productions will see where my mind can go when there’s not a budget to worry about! But I warn you, there’s some dark places to visit. If you’ve watched any of my work, you’ll notice some familiar themes and topics that are important to me to explore, as well as some new ones too–things I haven’t touched upon.
And, of course, for anyone who likes reading about horror that features bears and chubs, with a little kink and sex tossed in, I think you’ll really enjoy this collection.
JH: And what genres of horror are tapped into in Homo Phobias?
JP: There’s a little something for everyone in this collection! Love body horror? Guess what, I’ve got a story for you! Like demons? That’s there too. Psychological horror, erotic horror, curses, slashers, monsters, mothers. All of the stories are connected by themes of love, loss, and longing, but there is a variety within the pages.
JH: That all sounds good to me! What made you want to publish this collection?
JP: I’ve been interested in publishing a collection of short stories for years actually, but I’ve always let something else come stop me–typically filming. Dhafir (Jackson) came to me a few months back and really encouraged me to embrace this new challenge and put my stories out there, and more importantly, he offered to serve as my editor, which meant the learning curve of self-publishing was greatly diminished thanks to his experience. This was around the same time I saw Brandon Perras-Sanchez was adapting his screenplays into novels, starting with The White Bishop, and as he and I were talking, I realized this was a great way for me to start working on potential future film ideas as well! So, between Dhafir’s drive to help me, and the realization this was a great way to get some of my ideas onto paper, I knew I had to do this. Also, I love a new challenge, and after making film and television for years, this was a new one for me!
JH: Amazing. I know many people love Dhafir’s “Theater While….” Book series where (so far) he has explored working in theater as a person of color and as a fat person. Tell us about working with him and what you have learned?
JP: Dhafir has been an incredible editor, and I have loved every second of working with him. He’s driven, focused, and passionate. He’s organized and punctual. He’s smart and creative and skilled at what he does. I can’t really sing his praises more to be honest. And through his guidance and work as my editor, I’ve learned a great deal about the self-publishing process.
JH: Fabulous. Now since you truly are an expert in this tell me what do you think renders a piece of art as fat positive?
JP: There’s a lot of ways a piece of art can be fat positive. In many ways, it’s similar to how we can tell if a story is good representation for queer characters, or women, or people of color. Sometimes, just featuring multiple fat characters in various types of roles–leading, supporting, and background–can be enough. If the characters are nuanced, with identities beyond their weight, that’s even better. And if the storylines they are a part of are about things other than weight loss or the “challenges” of being overweight, then that’s probably the best. The story should recognize the fat character and not pretend the character isn’t fat, while also allowing the character to experience all of the layers and levels a straight-sized character might.
JH: Right on! Well, I cannot wait for everyone to see what you’ve created with Homo Phobias. Congratulations on the book and thank you for always celebrating bigger people and bears in your work. Its importance cannot be overstated.
JP: Thank you so much!
Get your copy of Homo Phobias by Joshua Pangborn HERE.
**Join The Twisted Spine bookstore and the Brooklyn Horror Society at Wild East Brewing Co. for the first Brooklyn Books & Boos on Sunday, September 15th! Joshua will be there for a talk and book signing at 2PM. **
