02/25/2026 BLACK HISTORY MONTH: Rowland Bercy, Jr.

Candace Nola
56 minutes ago
5 min read

As we do every year in the month of February, Uncomfortably Dark takes time out to honor Black authors and Black history from every era, past and present. If you already read widely and diversely or want to get started; please add these authors to your Must - Read lists and to those TBR piles!

A massive thank you to fellow author Eliza Broadbent for this huge undertaking for this month, enabling Uncomfortably Dark to honor at least one author a day, or more!

Rowland Bercy Jr. is an award-winning author, best known for Unbortion, recipient of the 2020 American Fiction Awards and a finalist in the 2019 International Fiction Awards. His body of work includes The Mami Wata of Mermentau River, Tongue Wrestling for Tonsil Stones, The Dryad of Dueling Oaks, Dr. Parasite, Guts, Gags & Gore, Payback Is a Witch, and Pre-Thanksgiving Stress Disorder.

His short fiction has appeared in numerous anthologies, including “Go Medieval” (The Clubhouse II), “Vintage Vengeance” (We’re Still Here), “B.I.R.D.S.” (Hunted Highways Book 12: Road Trip Horror), “Night of the Nagual” (Does the Dog Die? An Anthology of Canine Horror), “Homegrown Comeuppance” (The Baker’s Dozen Anthology), “A Nec ‘ROMANTIC’ Love Story” (Battered, Broken Bodies Anthology), and “The Devil Baby of Bourbon Street” (Exits Anthology, limited printing).

Beginning his writing career in 2019, Bercy has established a dynamic and steadily growing presence within the horror, splatterpunk, and extreme horror community. His journey has opened doors to new creative opportunities, introduced him to a community of talented and inspiring fellow authors, and connected him with supportive, passionate readers whose encouragement continues to drive his love for storytelling.

Today, we honor Rowland Bercy, Jr.!

1. What kind of horror do you write/publish, and what brought you to the horror genre in particular?

I write Extreme horror / splatterpunk / folklore horror / comedy horror.

I’ve always had a thing for horror. Growing up, my mom, dad, my sister, and I had this Friday night ritual where we’d go to Hollywood Video and rent the scariest movies we could find. It was our little tradition, and honestly, some of my best memories are tied to those nights.

My mom also loved reading horror. She’d finish a book, set it down, and I’d immediately pick it up and dive in. That’s kind of how it all started for me.

My first story, Unbortion, was inspired by the 1974 cult classic It’s Alive. A movie that absolutely freaked me out as a kid. The idea for Unbortion lived in the back of my mind for years. It wasn’t until I went through a pretty rough heartbreak that I finally sat down and wrote it. I needed something to pour myself into, something to keep my mind busy, and horror has always been an escape for me.

2. Who would you consider your influences and inspiration?

Some of my earliest inspirations were guys like Wrath James White, Shane McKenzie, Edward Lee, and Graham Masterton. I’ve always gravitated toward writers who aren’t scared to cross lines, get uncomfortable, and go way beyond safe, traditional horror stuff. A lot of mainstream horror feels kind of watered down and vanilla to me.

3. What piece of writing has meant the most to you, and why? This can be both your own and/or another author’s.

My most recent story, The Mami Wata of Mermentau River probably means the most to me. It came from a mix of things I’ve always loved.

I’ve always been fascinated by mermaids, and I make it a point to center characters of color in my work. When I learned about Mami Wata, an African water deity who can appear as a mermaid, I immediately felt inspired.

I’m also really drawn to weaving Louisiana history / landmarks, as well a LGBTQ characters into my stories. I had known about the legend of Negro Island, an island just off the shore of Grand Chenier Louisiana in the Mermentau River, where historical records say more than 200 enslaved people were abandoned after being abducted from villages along the Congo River.

Bringing Binuwe, a Mami Wata into the story as one of the captured people who survives in human form and is left for dead on Negro Island, and her quest to avenge her fallen the abandoned slaves felt like everything lining up exactly the way it was meant to.

4. What’s your writing/editing journey been like? What challenges have you faced?

This whole writing thing has been such a wild ride. When I wrote Unbortion, I honestly thought that was it. One and done. I didn’t even realize I had all these stories just sitting in my head waiting to crawl out.

I guess it’s kinda like getting a tattoo. You swear you’re only getting one… and then somehow, you’re halfway to a full sleeve and already planning the next one. I dropped one story back in 2018, blinked, and now I’m sitting at 19 (counting short stories I have in collections), plus three more lined up to drop this year ...

I’m not gonna lie, I’m really proud of all that I’ve been able to accomplish. Imposter syndrome still pops up sometimes, trying to whisper its foolishness, but I just shove it aside and keep it moving.

5. Who do you think everyone should be reading right now?

Oh man, there are soooo many...

Definitely Candace Nola, Jeff Strand, Graham Masterton, Judith Sonnet, Nick Cutter, Phrique, Aron Beauregard, Jon Athan, and Andrew Van Wey.

And that’s just scratching the surface.

The list could honestly go on forever. There are so many insanely talented authors out there, and what I love most is how different their stories all are. Everyone brings their own flavor to horror, and it just makes the whole genre feel massive and exciting.

6. What’s it like being a Black horror writer/editor at this particular moment?

Honestly? It feels like progress. Like doors are open that weren’t always open. Like we’re not just participating in horror, we’re helping to shape it into something truly unique and special.

7. Do you do any writing or editing that’s not fiction? If so, how did you come to that space, and where can we find it?

No, I pretty much live in the fiction world. That’s where I’m most comfortable. Honestly, the research I already do for my fiction is enough to keep me busy. I can’t even imagine the level of detail and fact-checking that comes with writing non-fiction.

8. Have you faced any unique challenges in your writing career?

One of the biggest challenges for me has honestly been and will always be imposter syndrome. It shows up with every single book. No matter how many stories I’ve written or how many good reviews come in, there’s still that little voice asking, “are the stories I write good enough and whether or not I belong here?”