WoWFEST 2026: Comma Press presents The Monster, Capital

Comma Press presents The Monster, Capital with Ian Carrington, Kiare Ladner and Sarah Schofield chaired by Ra Page, a bold new anthology from the acclaimed Theory Horror series, edited by David Sue and Ra Page.Inspired by the writings of philosopher Mark Fisher and his concept of Capitalist Realism, this collection imagines capitalism as something monstrous — an abstract parasite, a zombie-maker, a force that consumes, reshapes and haunts our lives.

Drawing on folk horror, body horror and the surreal, thirteen writers explore algorithmic obsession, parasocial addiction, vanishing communities and the eerie logic of the market.A gothic reckoning with late capitalism — unsettling, urgent and darkly imaginative.Ian Carrington is a Manchester writer who, as ‘Fat Roland’, has enjoyed a long performance career.

He co-compered live literature night Bad Language, twice voted the UK’s best regular spoken word event.

He has written features and columns for Electronic Sound magazine and fiction for Comma Press.Kiare Ladner is the author of Nightshift, a novel about obsession and nocturnal lives (Picador 2021; HarperCollins 2022).

Her short fiction has been anthologised, commissioned for radio and shortlisted in competitions, including the BBC National Short Story Award.

She teaches and mentors writers in London.

She grew up in South Africa and now lives in London. www.kiareladner.comSarah Schofield is an award-winning writer of short fiction.

Her stories have appeared in several Comma Press anthologies, Best British Short Stories 2020 (Salt), Synaesthesia Magazine, Morning Star, Woman’s Weekly, Hinterland and many others.

Sarah is a Creative Writing lecturer at Edge Hill University.Her debut collection Safely Gathered In was published by Comma Press in November 2021