Who are Kilter & Rammel?

Alex is an artist and writer with 15 years experience in the art and design industry. In 2024 he branched out into the world of proofreading and editing, and is a member of the Chartered Institute of Editors and Proofreaders (CIEP), with whom he has completed professional proofreading and copyediting training.

Alex is a traditionally published writer of horror, and has previously produced his own non-fiction zines and art books. He set up Kilter & Rammel in 2024 to publish more of his own work independently, as well as to seek opportunities to work with other authors and assist in getting their writing out into the world.

Alex acts as editor, proofreader and typesetter as well as publisher, however other editing professionals are employed on a freelance basis where needed. Collaboration is a big part of Kilter & Rammel, so for bigger projects (such as anthologies) other talented folk will come on board!

Alex also talks about what he’s reading and writing on his YouTube Channel Alex Unabridged.

Current partners in crime…

Hokunani Sorci is our special guest reader for Fun in the Dark #2: Open Water, the second volume in our mini anthology series, due for release 1 July 2026.

Hoku was born and raised in Hawai’i. When she’s not writing, she enjoys reading scary stories, watching scary movies, or dreaming of scary things. She’s the author of the short story collection My Dreadful Dreams: 13 Tales of Terror (2024) and the novel The Haven Horror (2025). In 2025, her short story, “Bloodemic”, was included in CriminOlly presents Trash Tales: An Anthology of Trashy Fiction. She currently lives far from home with her husband and rescue greyhound. She posts book reviews and occasional life updates on Instagram @hoku.sorci.

---

Olly is the host of the YouTube channel CriminOlly, where he talks about crime, pulp, horror…that kind of thing. Olly used to write books, but decided it was easier to talk about other people’s instead. He lives on the south coast of England with his family, cat, and hundreds of trashy paperbacks.

---

S. M. Davis is an associate editor at Kilter & Rammel. He joined us to assist with proofreading for CriminOlly presents Trash Tales: An Anthology of Trashy Fiction and proved to be such a great addition to the team that he’s sticking with us for the whole Fun in the Dark anthology series, where he’ll be doing more proofreading and editing as well as helping to select the stories for each volume.

S. M. Davis was born, raised, and educated in New England, receiving undergraduate degrees in theater and religion and a Masters of Divinity in Buddhist Ministry. He is a Buddhist teacher and a translator, splitting his time between India and the USA. His writing has previously appeared in Garbology: The GarbAugust Anthology of Awesome Trash (Tough Times Publishing, 2024) and Trash Tales: An Anthology of Trashy Fiction (Kilter & Rammel Publishing, 2025).

What will Kilter & Rammel publish?

We have plans for tons of different sorts of publications, but for 2026 we’ll be focusing on anthologies and short story collections. Going into 2027 we hope to publish longer works, like novellas and novels.

We’re interested in many genres, but have a particular love for horror and science fiction, so that’s likely what we’ll focus on.

Why the name ‘Kilter & Rammel’?

Alex says…

“When I was a kid in the 1980s, my favourite part of the week was going to spend my 20p pocket money on what my mum always referred to as ‘a bag of rammel’. This was a bag of penny sweets – pick & mix – selected from a plethora of options behind a glass counter in the post office. Fizzy cola bottles, foam shrimps, white chocolate mice (that weren’t really chocolate), jelly snakes, liquorice, that sort of thing. Cheap and accessible candy, a mixed bag of delight. Some of it you’d like, some of it you really wouldn’t (aniseed balls, I’m looking at you), but there was something for everyone.

Rammel comes from an old saying in Lincolnshire dialect, “Now’t but kilter and rammel“, which means a load of rubbish! But what my mum meant was a mish-mash of fun, trashy, sugary delight that, whilst not being particularly good for my health, was good for the soul. I loved it because I never had to restrict myself to one kind of sweet, and because I got so much bang for my buck, so to speak! The experience of getting those little paper bags full of joy has stuck with me nearly 40 years later.

So that’s what I want my publishing and writing to be – a selection of entertaining publications that deliver a sweet experience for readers. There’ll be a variety of genres and styles, and I hope to work with a diverse range of authors. I’ll ‘pick & mix’ what I produce. Hopefully there’ll be something for everyone, whether it’s a quick hit of fun fiction, or a lasting memorable reading experience.

And whilst the focus is on entertaining and accessible writing, that doesn’t mean it isn’t of quality! I want to champion the entertaining, the trashy, the quirky work that I love to read. Because when you dig through that bag of fun you never know what gems you might find…“