Hello, and welcome. I’m Jordan Acosta, a British-Filipino speculative writer and co-founder of Hawberk Press. Here, you'll find a central index for my fiction and essays, as well as the archive for my erratic newsletter, the Acosta Dispatch.
This no-frills blog feed is hosted by the wonderful folks at Hey!.
Jordan Acosta is a British-Filipino speculative writer. His debut far-future political thriller, Dark Century, is currently on submission.
He is also the writer of The Pallid Mask, an audio drama anthology based on Robert W. Chambers’ short story collection, The King in Yellow. The podcast will be available on all streaming platforms from Halloween 2026.
Acosta was born and raised in Hong Kong and trained as an architect at the University of Sheffield before embarking on career in historical archive restoration. As the Creative Director of Unseen Histories, he has worked on everything from the Discovery of Tutankhamun in colour, to the cover of the Manic Street Preachers’ album, Resistance is Futile. His clients have ranged from The Times to the Imperial War Museums and Unsplash.
His non-fiction books include The Paper Time Machine (Unbound, 2017) and Colours of London with Peter Ackroyd (Frances Lincoln, 2022).
Acosta’s passion for storytelling has expanded into publishing as the co-founder of Hawberk Press. Outside of work and writing, he can often be found in the kitchen, aiming to create the perfect bowl of ramen using traditionally British ingredients.
An investigator from the Danish Interior Ministry uncovers a decades-long conspiracy, set in the Kingdom of Denmark centuries after climate collapse where fevered witch hunts collide with the shadow of le Carré’s Cold War.
Essays
For writing which falls outside my roundup or fiction; such as short essays or resource guides. Published erratically.
How writing the back cover copy can stress test your next novel idea
The Acosta Dispatch
The Acosta Dispatch is my occasional roundup, straight to your inbox or RSS feed, also published erratically. Subscribe at the bottom of this page for news, short reviews and more.
Reviews: Strange Pictures by Uketsu, Kate Mosse: Unlocking the Secrets of the Labyrinth, The Deadly Percheron by John Franklin Bardin; and Dracula, adapted by Nick Lane
Reviews: Dissolution by Nicholas Binge, Goodnight Tokyo by Atsuhiro Yoshida, Severance, Series 1, Dir: Ben Stiller, Aoife McArdle et al.; and The Monkey, Dir: Osgood Perkins
Reviews: Piranesi by Susanna Clarke, A Bitter Taste by Josh Reynolds, Conclave by Robert Harris, A Real Pain, Dir: Jesse Eisenman; and Nosferatu, Dir: Robert Eggers
