Rock and a Hard Place Press is a lit-noir publisher, focused on stories of struggle, tales of the powerless and marginalized, characters on the fringes of society … and what they do next.
We’re happy to announce that Rock and a Hard Place Press is kicking off 2026 with a reprint of What We Reckon, Eryk Pruitt’s Anthony-nominated novel of faith, faithfulness and felons set in the American South.
What We Reckon follows Jack Jordan, a smooth-talking con artist with a penchant for the fast life. He’s snuck into Lufkin Texas in the middle of the night with little more than a beat-up Honda, a hollowed-out King James Bible full of cocaine, and enough emotional baggage to sink a steam ship.
His partner, Summer Ashton, has stuck by him through thick and thin, but lately, after all the lies they’ve told, she’s having a devil of a time remembering the truth. She’s also started hearing voices, and happens to be the brains of their operation.
Joe R. Landsdale, of Hap & Leonard fame, had this to say:
“Hardboiled honey packed with razor blades and dynamite, strange and leanly written, and tossed into a tornado; What We Reckon is the insane love child of James Cain and Jim Thompson, a modern piece of folklore covered in gasoline and set on fire … You need it.”
That’s right, you need it. And the only place you can get it is Rock and a Hard Place. Pick up a copy through all the usual order options (BOOKSHOP.ORG, BARNES & NOBLE, and AMAZON), ask about it at your local bookstore, and help spread the gospel.
And so it became thus.
Coming March 15, 2026 from Rock and a Hard Place Press is A Woman’s Guide to Crime, the debut short story collection from Mary Thorson.
This book unlike any other is a startling mix of True Crime, literary fiction, and noir. You may know some of the facts, but you’ve never heard these stories from these perspectives.
A Woman's Guide to True Crime features shocking historical events examined through the eyes of victims, killers, or the women left behind.
“Mary Thorson blends the raw interiority of her characters hopes and dreams with the unrelenting conflict of their lives in a witch’s brew of fantastic stories. Not to be missed”
—S.A. Cosby, author of All the Sinners Bleed and King of Ashes
Pre-order on BOOKSHOP.ORG, BARNES & NOBLE, or AMAZON
We’re kicking off the Rock and a Hard Place university in 2026 with a 5-week course from Nick Kolakowski, author of Where the Bones Lie and the aforementioned Jake Halligan trilogy that will help you balance telling stories that honor the truth while still being entertaining as hell.
Titled “Getting it Right: Research, History, and Writing Crime Fiction,” participants will learn how to make the past come alive, how to integrate accurate details without hurting a story’s pace and flow, and how to effectively utilize sources. If you’ve ever wanted to use facts and history as tools in your writing without slowing it down with info-dumps, this course is for you.
The course will feature two one-hour-long lectures from Nick over Zoom (lectures will be recorded for course participants who cannot attend live), class discussions featuring the instructor and editors from RHP on an invite-only Discord app channel, and assignments, with feedback, uploaded via Google Drive. Cost is $200 plus fees, registration is now open, and class size is limited. Sign up today! https://www.eventbrite.com/e/getting-it-right-research-history-and-writing-crime-fiction-tickets-1983721226589?aff=oddtdtcreator
Thanks for continuing to be a part of our RHP community! Believe it or not, we’re just getting started—so many great projects on the horizon!