(ANNOUNCEMENT) New publication! Black Skulls, by Iphgenia Baal
Updated: Mar 17
We've been developing this new publication over the last year, as Season 1 of Glitches, a new series of hybrid publications at SPAM. We commissioned Iphgenia Baal as a writer we greatly admire whose expansive approach to writing and design sets a precedent for the glitchful publications we are looking to put out into the world at SPAM, alongside our poetry pamphlets.
How do you like this game? Black Scholes requires Black Skulls for invasive operation. Literary publishing is dead, deaf, dead, on the defensive.
A giant book that can be torn apart as posters, reassembled, reinvented and remixed. Written straight into inDesign, in this mash up text-visual playground, IB approaches all the BS, reaching out towards the ABCs that might have been. Start ripping!
The publication comes with an accompanying sound piece, a collaboration between Iphgenia Baal and FORSYTH which you can access through the physical publication and here.
A word from our editor-in-chief, Kirsty Dunlop:
I have been following IB's writing over many years now and I was ecstatic, to say the least, when she was up for working with us on this adventurous project. Baal has been committed to working within small press for over a decade now and has a unique approach to her work which is genuinely hybrid, moving between text, sound, image and pushing up against the boundaries of form, culture, print, expectations. Once you read one of Iphgenia's books, you'll want to read them all!
You can read a long-form review of her last publication Man Hating Psycho out with Influx Press here, where I also discuss the trajectory of her work, published in the late and beloved MAP Magazine in Glasgow.
About the author
iphgenia baal is a writer. she was born in london but now lives in scotland with her new family. she is the author of several books, the first being the hardy tree and the most recent being man hating psycho. she is a enthusiastic producer of print ephemera and collaborative work. she is currently working on a series of books for children, with artist fanny wickstrom.
PRESS: If you would like a review copy, please email spamzine.editors@gmail.com.
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Launch details (Glasgow): We will be launching Black Skulls at Good Press Glasgow, on April 1st at 6.30pm. Iphgenia will be joined by support readings from Rosie Roberts and Isaac Harris.
ACCESS INFORMATION
There is a small step at entry, approximately 3 inches, and we have a ramp that can be installed for access to wheelchair users. Please email us at goodpressgallery@gmail.com and we will arrange this for you. There is a gender neutral toilet on premises, however it is not wheelchair accessible.
Launch details (London): We will also be launching Black Skulls in London at the Peckham Pelican on Thursday 30th April at 7pm. Iphgenia will be joined by special guests.
ACCESS INFORMATION
The Peckham Pelican is wheelchair accessible with no stepped access. Gender neutral and wheelchair accessible toilets. No wheelchair accessible car park.
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Published: 13/03/2026
A title like Black Skulls is the sort of thing that makes you stop scrolling and actually click, because it promises something with teeth rather than another safe little pamphlet. I get a lot of my fun from the UK platform, so stumbling on a new publication was a nice surprise. New voices getting printed is always worth celebrating, and I'd rather take a punt on something bold and strange than read the same recycled stuff. Genuinely curious what's between the webcam sex covers.
The idea of a book you can tear apart into posters is wild, and writing it straight into InDesign is such a strange process. I found the Wavelength Game while reading about it and now I want to hear the FORSYTH sound piece too.
The idea of a book you can tear apart and remix sounds fun, not stuffy like normal publishing. The sound piece with FORSYTH is a nice bonus too. I’ll have to check out that colony flow for a different way to read.
Brilliant news about Iphgenia Baal’s new publication Black Skulls! This experimental hybrid text‑visual book with its companion sound piece looks incredibly innovative. It’s wonderful to see SPAM supporting such bold, boundary‑blurring small‑press work. Best wishes for both the Glasgow and London launch events! --try on
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