The Beating Hearts of Stories: The White Guy Dies First edited by Terry J. Benton-Walker

The Stories About Stories series has covered work across lengths and forms, from graphic novels to novellas, and from large presses to small ones. But there is one form that comes together like no other: the anthology. Anthologies bring authors together along a shared theme, and The White Guy Dies First organizes their work around the titular concept. This is a collection of short horror stories in which, every time, the white guy dies first. To learn how a project like this one comes together, I spoke with the team that took it from an offhanded joke to a meaningful idea, then carried that idea across the finish line.

The White Guy Dies First includes 13 scary stories by all-star contributors and this time, the white guy dies first.

Killer clowns, a hungry hedge maze, and rich kids who got bored. Friendly cannibals, impossible slashers, and the dead who don’t stay dead....

A museum curator who despises “diasporic inaccuracies.” A sweet girl and her diary of happy thoughts. An old house that just wants friends forever....

These stories are filled with ancient terrors and modern villains, but go ahead, go into the basement, step onto the old plantation, and open the magician’s mystery box because this time, the white guy dies first.

Edited by Terry J. Benton-Walker, including stories from bestselling, award-winning, and up-and-coming contributors: Adiba Jaigirdar, Alexis Henderson, Chloe Gong, Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé, H. E. Edgmon, Kalynn Bayron, Karen Strong, Kendare Blake, Lamar Giles, Mark Oshiro, Naseem Jamnia, Tiffany D. Jackson, and Terry J. Benton-Walker.

Terry J. Benton-Walker, author and editor of The White Guy Dies First: I co-edited The White Guy Dies First with rockstar editor extraordinaire, Ali Fisher.

Gailey: How did this collection come to be?

Mark Oshiro, author of The Sun and The Star: I came up with the idea about seven years ago. It came from a bit I don’t remember. I think my friends and I were throwing out increasingly absurd titles that would never be published, and I said “The White Guy Dies First.” Everyone went silent and then immediately was like, “Hey, that’s a really good idea?”

Gailey: Why didn’t you run with it yourself?

Oshiro: My first book wasn’t even out at the time, so I knew from talking to other anthology editors that not only was it a lot of work, but I didn’t necessarily have enough credit or pull in the industry to edit an anthology. I really wanted to focus on writing my next book more than anything else. So, handing it off to Terry years later when I moved to Atlanta was relieving. I knew it was a good idea, but I wasn’t the right person to breathe life into it.

Benton-Walker: It was very easy to pick up Mark’s title idea and run with it. It was such a great concept, and I’m very grateful to them for gifting it to me and allowing me to make it my own. I’m very proud of what this project has blossomed into. 

Gailey: How did the idea get off the ground? What was it like to pitch this anthology to Tor?

Benton-Walker: Pitching this project to Tor was a really cool process. I have a great relationship with my editor, Ali Fisher, who I worked on the Blood Debts series with. She and I actually worked together on refining the concept before the pitch proposal was sent to acquisitions.

Ali Fisher, Executive Editor at Tor Teen: My job is to acquire and edit manuscripts across all imprints at Tor Publishing Group, I work on speculative fiction for middle schoolers, young adults and adults, and some non-fiction books for adults.

Gailey: How do you decide what projects to take on?

Fisher: Literary agents pitch me projects from their author clients, I review the materials they send, and if I think a project is something that would be great to publish on one of TPG's imprint lists, I send the materials around to folks on the team to get more reads, impressions, and early ideas for things like—what could a cover for this book look like? What kind of marketing and publicity do we think would be great for this project? What's the best way to talk about and pitch this book to readers?

Gailey: What happens if everyone seems enthusiastic?

Fisher: If the team is on board, I get to make an offer on the publication rights to that project for whatever formats we intend to publish it in—primarily hardcover print, paperback print, ebook, and audiobook. After negotiations, we sign a contract and get to work!

Gailey: Once the ink was dry, how much were you two working together?

Benton-Walker: Ali and I worked closely from the very beginning on refining the overall concept and then building the project through each phase during the editorial process.

Fisher: Terry and I were already connected and working together on his debut YA contemporary fantasy series, Blood Debts, and working with him is THE BEST. So I knew any pitch for something new from Terry meant a good time and a great book and I wasn't wrong. I haven't worked on an anthology before, but I had so much confidence in Terry that bringing the project to the team and advocating for Tor Teen to publish this was a no-brainer.  

Benton-Walker: Ali and I worked closely together on developing the frame story for the anthology, selecting contributors, editing each of their stories across multiple rounds, and managing the overall project of putting together this collection.

Gailey: How did things kick off?

Fisher: I got to have a series of conversations with Terry about how to most effectively communicate and help authors deliver on his vision for the project—some of the most fun and fannish conversations I've had in my editorial career.

Benton-Walker: Curating a collection of short stories like The White Guy Dies First involves a lot of moving parts, especially when working with such a big team of incredible authors who're all super busy with their own solo projects. However, I have lots of past experience in project management, so I welcomed the challenge. I pride myself on being very structured and organized so we can spend less time fretting about logistics and more time having fun creating these stories that are going to terrify you well into the wee hours of the morning.

Gailey: Editing this project together is a massive collaborative undertaking. What was it like to take on that level of collaboration? 

Fisher: Since The White Guy Dies First is the first anthology I've acquired, I had some nerves around finding the balance of not overstepping into Terry's territory as an editor but also providing a solid level of support to help everything succeed. That anxiety faded quickly as Terry and I found a rhythm and he's just an incredible communicator with incredible editorial instincts and passion, so I always knew when we were on the same page and when I needed to adjust to get on his level.

Benton-Walker: Regarding the individual contributor's stories, I created a list of 20 classic subgenres of horror such as haunted house, paranormal, killer clowns, cannibals, demonic possession, slasher, etc. and had each contributor choose a subgenre for their story, which they then had to subvert in a new and exciting way—and of course, the white guy has to always die first.

Gailey: How do you get such different stories to harmonize well in an anthology?

Benton-Walker: The initial frame story surrounds an unsung filmmaker by the name of Jakobi Warren, who created a series of 13 films he titled "The White Guy Dies First" before mysteriously disappearing. Ali and I always had a pretty clear and consistent editorial vision for this project, so there weren't many drastic changes from the beginning. However, I'll say that I had an incredible time working with each contributor on discovering the beating heart of their stories and helping them stand out and beat even stronger than the initial draft.

CONTRIBUTOR LIST: Adiba Jaigirdar, Alexis Henderson, Chloe Gong, Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé, H. E. Edgmon, Kalynn Bayron, Karen Strong, Kendare Blake, Lamar Giles, Mark Oshiro, Naseem Jamnia, Tiffany D. Jackson, and Terry J. Benton-Walker.

Benton-Walker: At the start of this project, I warned everyone that we were going to push them really hard in edits so we could get the best stories possible, and every contributor delivered. The White Guy Dies First is truly an amazing collection that every horror enthusiast absolutely must have for their own personal libraries.

Oshiro: I ended up writing the only genre/trope that makes me want to peel my skin off. Terry and Ali made this story NASTIER. I’m so proud of how unhinged and unapologetic the final version is.  

Gailey: Terry, you have a story of your own in there in addition to the frame story. Can you tell us about it?

Benton-Walker: I contributed a story titled The Road to Hell, which is a haunted house story told in second person past from the perspective of a centuries-old house that becomes enamored with a teen boy and his family after they move in one summer to rehab the house. This short story is incredibly special because it's also an allegory for domestic abuse survivors and how sometimes our trauma manifests in our pursuit of love.

Gailey: What kind of internal support is required to put an anthology with so many moving parts through production?

Fisher: After Terry supported the contributing authors through revising their stories, he delivered the final stories to me and Dianna Vega, another editor here at TPG who worked with me on this project, and then she and I get to be liaisons between Terry and the authors he's working with and all of the departments at TPG who are putting the book together for publication—primarily production, art, marketing, publicity, and sales.

Benton-Walker: I’m continually grateful for Ali’s expertise and guidance. I don’t take for granted that I have the privilege of working with an editor that matches my drive and creative direction so closely.

Gailey: How does the team end up working directly with the creator?

Fisher: As we near publication, Dianna and I introduce an author, or in this case the editor, to his marketing and publicity contacts and they coordinate publication promotion with him directly. From delivery of the final manuscript to publication, my job is to make sure the author and their team are communicated with about our plans, to keep our team informed on any updates from the author, and to just generally be Too Excited about the book!!

Benton-Walker: I absolutely adore the marketing and publicity team at Tor Teen. Anthony Parisi, Saraciea Fennell, Khadija Lokhandwala, Isa Caban, Eileen Lawrence, and Lucille Rettino have all been phenomenal. It’s been such a wonderful experience to get to make magic and scares with this team. I appreciate that they put so much effort and creativity into supporting not just my individual book projects but also my career and my artistic expression. If you can’t tell, I’m incredibly proud to be a Tor Teen author.

Gailey: How does that excitement end up supporting the book?

Fisher: Anthologies can also be a tough sell to retailers, so it was especially important to be sure we were giving this project its absolute best chance to succeed at every turn, from nailing the cover—which was beautifully art directed by Lesley Worrell and perfectly designed by Maeve Norton—to getting the pitch for booksellers just right. It was a full team effort.

Gailey: Lesley Worrell, what can you tell us about your work as art director? How do you approach that work?

Lesley Worrell, Associate Art Director at Tor Publishing Group: I design and art direct book covers. Sometimes I use stock photos to create a cover. Sometimes I commission an artist to do a custom illustration. I do research to find the right artist for a project. Sometimes I hire freelance designers to work on a cover.  

Gailey: How do you take on a new title when it lands on your desk?

Worrell: The first approach is to look at the cover concept and do a little research on comp titles for the book. Come up with some ideas that fit the concept and then others that are out of the box.  

Gailey: What was it like coming up with ideas forThe White Guy Dies First in particular?

Worrell: It's a book of short stories where the only connection is that they are horror. There's so much differing imagery and ideas that can fit the horror genre, so coming up with a look was challenging. My early comps leaned into the scary/horror aspect but ultimately that wasn't the way to go. I hired a freelance designer to take a fresh look at the project and her comps leaned more into the fun, not the scary.

Fisher: Lesley pulled together the perfect look for this project. Her work with designer Maeve Norton made this collection iconic before it was even published.

Benton-Walker: The cover art was done by Maeve Norton, and the moment I saw it, I was blown away. Maeve also did one of my favorite recent covers to a book that I also coincidentally LOVED, which is The Getaway by Lamar Giles (who also has a story in The White Guy Dies First). The color choices and the simplistic yet provocative and bold art design with that title are going to grab a lot of attention from bookshelves this July. I can’t wait to share this collection with the rest of the world soon!

Benton-Walker: I'm super proud of where this collection has ended up as a whole.

Fisher: Just getting to be on the inside as Terry and his contributors are actively ushering in a new era of horror has been such a privilege and so much fun. Every time I scan the table of contents I'm just blown away by how stacked the list is and how killer the stories are.

Benton-Walker: I'm proud of every single thing about this project. The title. The cover art work. The interior design. The frame story. And every single contributor's story. The White Guy Dies First is truly an amazing collection that every horror enthusiast absolutely must have for their own personal libraries.