Filthy Loot, a small boutique literary press based in Ames, specializes in what founding editor Ira Rat calls “misfit fictions.” The books published by Filthy Loot push boundaries.
“I found that a lot of the writers I like were getting ignored because they didn’t fit into a mold,” Rat said in a phone interview.
An author and artist himself, Rat wanted to see their work out in the world. “I’m just hoping to be a place where people can come find interesting material.”
In its eight years of existence, Filthy Loot and its founder have been able to connect with other authors and publishers around the Midwest that share their mission. And in early September, the press is collaborating with Public Space One to host a new horror literature festival in Iowa City called One of Us.
The fest is named in reference to Tod Browning’s 1932 pre-Hays Code cult horror film Freaks. Even if you don’t recognize the title, you’ve likely heard the iconic refrain, “One of us! One of us! Gooble gobble, gooble gobble! We accept her, we accept her!” For Rat, the sentiment is genuine — he acknowledges that his projects and publications often have provocative titles conveying “weird gross things.” But for One Of Us, “I wanted to be straightforward and lose the irony a bit.”
As a home for outcast writers and subjects, Filthy Loot has long had the same goal as his festival: connecting the horror community. “We do transgressive fiction, literature with a bit of a dark bent,” he said, “Basically work from the perspective of the outsider.”
Filthy Loot also publishes anthologies of collected writing in a genre, such as Little Birds, a transgressive fiction anthology, Body Punk, which is all body horror, and Talented Perverts, a literary fiction collection. Some publications come with supplemental media such as soundtracks.
Rat noticed that “there’s not an awful lot of horror events in Iowa,” noting outliers like Ottumwa’s Halloweenapalooza, a horror film festival, and a discontinued anime-horror convention in Des Moines. “I’m trying to have a place in Iowa where horror fans can get together,” he said. “I want there to be more places for things like this.”
One Of Us will feature several authors and presses, including Weird Punk and Cursed Morsels, and “a couple local musicians will play some dark and weird music in the corner.” There won’t be panels in the fest’s first iteration, as Rat wants to make sure the program is straightforward and uncomplicated. He also wants to make sure artists can focus on mingling with patrons. “I don’t want people to be dragged away from their booth for too long.”
Rat has long collaborated with other alternative presses and projects, including Oddmart in Minneapolis and Day of the Read. He’s working with musician Brian Dudley to create a soundtrack to a fake ’70s-era Italian horror movie. One of his horror anthologies, Soft Ceremonies, is meant to feel like a series of short films.
He hopes One of Us can help spawn the next weird brainchild of Midwest artists.
“I want it to be an interesting networking experience for both writers and fans to get together,” Rat said, “and figure out what’s going on with horror in Iowa.”
This article was originally published in Little Village’s September 2025 issue.
