#HorrorForLibraries: 2 Arcs for 1 Winner

Today I have 2 great ARCs, including this one I reviewed in the September issue of Booklist. Details below but first, here are the rules on how to enter:

1. You need to be affiliated with an American Library. My rationale behind that is that I will be encouraging you to read these books and share them with patrons. While many of them are advanced reader copies that you cannot add to your collections, if you get the chance to read them, my hope is that you will consider ordering a copy for your library and give away the ARC away as a prize or pass it on to a fellow staff member.
2. If you are interested in being included in any giveaway at any time, you must email me at zombiegrl75 [at] gmail [dot] com with the subject line "#HorrorForLibraries." In the body of the email all you have to say is that you want to be entered and the name of your library.
3. Each entry will be considered for EVERY giveaway. Meaning you enter once, and you are entered until you win. I will randomly draw a winner on Fridays sometime after 5pm central. But only entries received by 5pm each week will be considered for that week. I use Random.org and have a member of my family witness the "draw"based off your number in the Google Sheet.
4. If you win, you are ineligible to win again for 4 weeks; you will have to re-enter after that time to be considered [I have a list of who has won, when, and what title]. However, if you do not win, you carry over into the next week. There is NO NEED to reenter.

Last week's winner was Susan from MA. Now on to this week's giveaway.

First up is a book I reviewed in the September issue of Booklist, Quaint Folk by Bitter Karella:

It’s one week to Tigglestide Eve on the quaint British island of Hasenhurst, where the isolated islanders are devoted to their unique traditions. A Californian family– Tech VP Greg, homemaker Jessica, and their 15-year-old, nonbinary, purple-haired, aspiring witch, Sandy– relocate so that Greg can help Hasenhurst move into the 21st Century. However, as readers know from Chapter 0, the house that they will be staying in has powers of its own, allowing a layer of unease to settle over the novel, even before the family gets to the island's foggy shores. Told through the perspectives of the troubled Jessica and a blossoming Sandy, Karella (Moonflow) builds the world of Hasenhurst with skill, deliberately unveiling the details of Hasenhurst’s “quaint tradition” of Tigglestide as the days tick down, details that allow the fear to steadily rise from unsettling to dread to all out terror. Thought-provoking, irreverent, fun, and utterly original, get this book in the hands of Chuck Tingle's fans and those who enjoy folk horror in the vein of Slewfoot by Brom.

Three Words That Describe This Book: great world building, folk horror, tongue in cheek

Click here for way more by me about this fun, thought provoking, and chilling book.  Quaint Fold by Bitter Karella comes out on 10/6/26 from Run For It.

Second the ARC of a title I am very excited about but did not have time to review, Silent Nightmares: Haunting Stories to Be Told on the Longest Night of the Year edited by Chuck Palahniuk and Michael Bailey:

For fans of Out There Screaming and Never Whistle at Night, a chilling anthology of tales centered around the longest nights of the year, with modern horror authors like Alma Katsu and Josh Malerman paying homage to the time-honored Victorian tradition of ghost stories, edited by Chuck Palahniuk and Michael Bailey.

Great writers of centuries past like Charles Dickens, Edith Wharton, and Bram Stoker understood that darkness is always hiding amid the holiday cold and cheer, revealing sinister secrets. That in the stillness of winter, when the world is wrapped in a blanket of snow, the festive spirit masks the lurking horrors that dwell beneath the surface.

From haunted halls to malevolent delights, from vengeful spirits of the past to creatures lurking in the shadows, expect to encounter beings that celebrate the season in frightful ways in this Victorian-inspired horror anthology.

Join Chuck Palahniuk, Michael Bailey, Josh Malerman, Joe R. Lansdale, Alma Katsu, Ramsey Campbell, Cynthia Pelayo, Gabino Iglesias, and more for stories that promise nostalgia and dread, reminding us that sometimes the most silent nights can be the deadliest.

This is a book that will be popular with horror fans all year long and those looking to dip their toes in right now, around Halloween and around the Solstice. Don't miss this one.

There are also gorgeous illustrations accompanying each story by the amazing illustrator Orion Zangara who did the work on the tshirt for my book.

Add this book to your carts now if you haven't already. Silent Nightmares: Haunting Stories to Be Told on the Longest Night of the Year edited by Chuck Palahniuk and Michael Bailey comes out 9/29/26 from Saga Press. 

Both ARCs for 1 winner. 

Enter now and you are entered going forward.

Good luck to all!

#HorrorForLibraries Giveaway: 2 ARCs for 1 Winner

Today I have 2 great ARCs, including this one I reviewed in the August issue of Booklist. Details below but first, here are the rules on how to enter:

1. You need to be affiliated with an American Library. My rationale behind that is that I will be encouraging you to read these books and share them with patrons. While many of them are advanced reader copies that you cannot add to your collections, if you get the chance to read them, my hope is that you will consider ordering a copy for your library and give away the ARC away as a prize or pass it on to a fellow staff member.
2. If you are interested in being included in any giveaway at any time, you must email me at zombiegrl75 [at] gmail [dot] com with the subject line "#HorrorForLibraries." In the body of the email all you have to say is that you want to be entered and the name of your library.
3. Each entry will be considered for EVERY giveaway. Meaning you enter once, and you are entered until you win. I will randomly draw a winner on Fridays sometime after 5pm central. But only entries received by 5pm each week will be considered for that week. I use Random.org and have a member of my family witness the "draw"based off your number in the Google Sheet.
4. If you win, you are ineligible to win again for 4 weeks; you will have to re-enter after that time to be considered [I have a list of who has won, when, and what title]. However, if you do not win, you carry over into the next week. There is NO NEED to reenter.

Last week's winner was Lizzy from VA. Now on to this week's giveaway.

First up a book I reviewed in Booklist and wow was it great-- This B Just Won't Die by Tanya Pell. From that review:

Barb spent years as a scream queen, playing Debbie in six Mirror Man films, but now it’s 20 years later, she’s over 40, signing memorabilia for money, anxious about aging, and angry that she has never been seen as anything but the final girl. However, when people near Barb start getting murdered, the killer leaving clues from the movie franchise, Barb must fight her way through a real-life slasher film, grow into the role of final girl, or die trying. Pell’s (Her Wicked Roots) second novel is both a love letter to and biting satire of the final girl trope, filled with all the parts fans will demand but including a “pink horror” lens, the emerging subgenre of woman centered stories that are deadly terrifying, fun reads that tackle the sexism of the genre and the world at large head on without missing a horror beat. For fans of meta horror like Final Girl Support Group by Grady Hendrix or the scary, angry, feminist horror of authors like Rachel Harrison and C.J. Leede.

Three Words That Describe This Book: Final Girl Trope, Pink Horror, Conversational Tone

Click here to read a whole lot more. This is Pell's second novel and I am putting her on the MUST BUY list for every book. Her horror is perfect for a public library audience. Her work is thoughtful, has great characters, compelling pacing, and is definitely horror. 

This B Just Won't Die by Tanya Pell will be published on 10/13/26 by Gallery Books who provided this ARC for me to give away to one of you.

The second book is a titles that I did not have time to review but want to make sure you all know about.

It is the adult novel from a former Summer Scares YA author: American Nightmare by Kelly McWilliams. From the publisher's page:

“With its unflinching excavation of our dark past, American Nightmare is a page turner with a message.”—Tayari Jones, New York Times bestselling author of Kin 

In this haunting historical novel, a light-skinned Black man goes undercover to investigate lynchings in the South, only to be confronted by the very evil that has pursued him since childhood…

Clark Wendell White first encountered the Nightmare as a child during the Atlanta Race Riot of 1906, when he and his father stood guard over their family home. In the eyes of the mob surging through his neighborhood, Clark sensed this malevolent presence. It was then that the Nightmare took shape, burrowing deep into his mind and feeding on his fear.

Years later, the same evil presence drives Clark to the NAACP’s headquarters in New York City, where he answers an ad seeking light-skinned Black men for dangerous undercover work. As a spy for the NAACP, Clark investigates lynchings, impersonating the very Nightmare that once tormented him.

As Clark descends deeper into this double life, another force rises: a new chapter of the Ku Klux Klan, finding a foothold in the storied streets of New York City. Among its eager recruits is Sam Cahill—the one man who can see past his disguise. Now Clark must outwit both the living and the dead, as he confronts a past that refuses to stay buried and a future where the act of passing exacts a soul-deep price.

Inspired by the life of civil rights activist Walter White, who passed as a white man to expose the brutality of lynchings from the South to the Midwest, American Nightmare is a gripping historical thriller that reveals the most terrifying monsters aren’t those that go bump in the night but those that walk among us.

I am very excited for this one. American Nightmare by Kelly McWilliams comes out next week on 9/15/26 from Crown who provided this ARC for me to give away to one of you.

Two great titles, one winner. Enter now and you are entered going forward. 

Good luck!

#HorrorForLibrariesGiveaway: Three Anthologies for 1 Winner

Today I have 3 high interest anthologies, 1 finished copy and 2 ARCs. Details below but first, here are the rules on how to enter:

1. You need to be affiliated with an American Library. My rationale behind that is that I will be encouraging you to read these books and share them with patrons. While many of them are advanced reader copies that you cannot add to your collections, if you get the chance to read them, my hope is that you will consider ordering a copy for your library and give away the ARC away as a prize or pass it on to a fellow staff member.
2. If you are interested in being included in any giveaway at any time, you must email me at zombiegrl75 [at] gmail [dot] com with the subject line "#HorrorForLibraries." In the body of the email all you have to say is that you want to be entered and the name of your library.
3. Each entry will be considered for EVERY giveaway. Meaning you enter once, and you are entered until you win. I will randomly draw a winner on Fridays sometime after 5pm central. But only entries received by 5pm each week will be considered for that week. I use Random.org and have a member of my family witness the "draw"based off your number in the Google Sheet.
4. If you win, you are ineligible to win again for 4 weeks; you will have to re-enter after that time to be considered [I have a list of who has won, when, and what title]. However, if you do not win, you carry over into the next week. There is NO NEED to reenter.

The last winner was Lisa from PA. Now on to this week's giveaway.

Anthologies are very popular in general, but especially during the Fall when we have more readers who want to give Horror a try. Anthologies are the best way for readers to survey the landscape of a genre, to see a wide variety of styles and voices writing under one umbrella. They also provide a tasting menu of voices familiar and brand new. And if the editor does their job well, readers will finish the book having learned of a few new writers who will be added to their personal to-read pile.

Today I have 3 yet to be released 2026 Horror Anthologies for 1 winner. I highly suggest you add all three of these anthologies to your collections ASAP. They all feature popular authors whose books you have in your collections.

The first one is edited by Ellen Datlow. She is the most decorated and critically acclaimed editor and anthologist in the genre. Datlow crafts anthologies that unfold like a novel, layering stories that build off of each other which adds depth to the reading experience. It is important to note that Datlow has been consciously inclusive in assembling the table of contents for each of her books—and that intentionality (by the field’s top editor no less) has inspired others to follow her lead.

Next week she has a new anthology of all new stories dropping, All Hallow's Eve. From Goodreads:

Hugo Award winning editor and horror legend Ellen Datlow presents this chilling horror anthology of 19 original short stories from a world-class line-up of the masters of horror, delving into the histories and traditions of the spookiest season of the year.

Featuring stories by Josh Malerman, Stephen Graham Jones, Garth Nix and many more.

Halloween, Samhain, Día de los Muertos—festivals across the world where we can commune with those we have lost, when spirits can cross over, and when the boundary between the living and the dead is far, far too thin.

A young boy encounters a woman with an ancient and terrifying link to the holiday, a group of college students attend a Halloween party to die for, and a troubled girl exploits a local urban legend to try and turn her life around.

From America to New Zealand via the rural Romanian wilderness, this anthology explores our worldwide obsession with the spookiest season of the year, when the veil is lifted and the spirits come alive. 

Featuring 19 original stories from bestselling and award-winning masters of the genre, and from Hugo, World Fantasy, Locus, Bram Stoker and Shirley Jackson award-winning editor and horror legend Ellen Datlow, this anthology invites you to carve a pumpkin, light the lanterns and welcome in trick or treaters from across the world. With stories by Josh Malerman Lee Murray Rich Larson Clay McLeod Chapman Livia Llewellyn Michael Marshall Smith Stephen Graham Jones Linda D. Addison Christopher Golden Alma Katsu Brian Evenson Siobhan Carroll Chịkọdịlị Emelụmadụ Theresa DeLucci Garth Nix Jeffrey Ford Richard Kadrey Nathan Ballingrud John Langan

All Hallows' Eve comes out 9/8/26 from Titan Books who have provided this finished hard cover copy for one of you to add to your collections.

Next up is an anthology I reviewed in the August issue of Booklist here. 

Something Followed Us Home: Tales of Latiné Horror

Edited by Cynthia Pelayo

Oct. 2026. 336p. Atria/Primero Sueno, paper, $18 (9781668091944).

First published August 2026 (Booklist).

Critically acclaimed author Pelyao presents a culturally centered, haunting anthology featuring a who’s who of today’s Latiné authors with simultaneous publication in English and Spanish. The 17 stories are as different as the authors themselves. For example, Agustina Bazterrica presents a chilling, psychological, and heartbreaking story of a family’s pain; while Ann Dávila Cardinal’s diaspora story/satire will make readers laugh and gasp; and Lilliam Rivera’s standout, a discomfiting, visceral tale of body horror, anger, and retribution across generations and countries that will remind readers of Stephen Graham Jones. The tales here might stem from an inherited legacy of the horrors of colonialism, narco-violence, immigration, dictatorships, and gender violence, but the universal fear they describe reverberates loudly, screams into readers’ ears, ringing with their unsettling truth, lingering and forcing readers to reckon with what they have just experienced, long after the final page is turned. For all horror readers, this anthology will be especially sought after by the fans of the included authors and those who enjoyed the Never Whistle at Night anthologies.

Three Words That Describe This Book: Haunting, Full Range of Scares, Thought-Provoking

Click here for much more by me about this anthology. Something Followed Us Home: Tales of Latiné Horror comes out on September 29th from Atria/Primero Sueno Press who provided this ARC for me to giveaway to one of you.

Finally, an anthology I am very excited about but did not have time to fit it into my review schedule-- Unearthed: New Horror of Ancient Ruins. edited by Dan Coxon and Philip Fracassi. From Goodreads:

Nineteen original horror stories exploring ancient sites, uncovering forgotten histories and prising open the tombs of the past, from award-winning authors and editors Dan Coxon and Philip Fracassi.

Perfect for fans of Ellen Datlow.

Unearthed digs beneath these crumbling structures to reveal their archaic pasts, and their darkest secrets. Featuring the best modern writers of horror and dark fantasy, these stories explore the caverns and the catacombs, the ruined temples and the monoliths – and drag an ancient evil back into the light.

Featuring stories by  Tananarive Due Christopher Golden Josh Malerman Tim Lebbon Eric LaRocca A.M. Shine Jonathan Maberry Hildur Knútsdóttir Ai Jiang A. G. Slatter Mark Chadbourn Priya Sharma Benjamin Percy V. Castro Gemma Amor Cavan Scott Premee Mohamed Hache Pueyo Steve Toase

Unearthed comes out on  9/15/26 from Titan Books who have provided this ARC to me to give away to one of you.

That's 3 anthologies for 1 lucky winner.

Enter now and you are entered going forward.

Good luck!

No Giveaway Today BUT.....

I will be heading on vacation in a few days so there is no giveaway this week.

However, I have lots of upcoming Horror books for all ages to share today via Shelf Awareness:

Note from the Editors

Welcome to Shelf Awareness: Extra!

Welcome to another edition of Shelf Awareness Extra!, which are special issues that focus on a particular subject and appear once a month. This edition focuses on Halloween, many people's favorite holiday--for booksellers and publishers, too. For a lot more about spooky titles, keep reading!

Click through for lots of upcoming horror goodness, for all ages.  

I am back next week with 3 up coming anthologies for 1 winner. Including a hard cover, finished copy of this.

You can enter anytime. Follow the direction on the most recent giveaway here.

Announcing the Gorgeous Special Edition of WHY I LOVE HORROR

 Details on the general blog here. 

But before you click over, here are some pictures to get you excited.

Click here for details.

#HorrorForLibraries Giveaway: Books by Michael Wehunt and Hailey Piper for One winner

Today I have two high interested ARCs of September Horror titles. Details below but first, here are the rules on how to enter:

1. You need to be affiliated with an American Library. My rationale behind that is that I will be encouraging you to read these books and share them with patrons. While many of them are advanced reader copies that you cannot add to your collections, if you get the chance to read them, my hope is that you will consider ordering a copy for your library and give away the ARC away as a prize or pass it on to a fellow staff member.
2. If you are interested in being included in any giveaway at any time, you must email me at zombiegrl75 [at] gmail [dot] com with the subject line "#HorrorForLibraries." In the body of the email all you have to say is that you want to be entered and the name of your library.
3. Each entry will be considered for EVERY giveaway. Meaning you enter once, and you are entered until you win. I will randomly draw a winner on Fridays sometime after 5pm central. But only entries received by 5pm each week will be considered for that week. I use Random.org and have a member of my family witness the "draw"based off your number in the Google Sheet.
4. If you win, you are ineligible to win again for 4 weeks; you will have to re-enter after that time to be considered [I have a list of who has won, when, and what title]. However, if you do not win, you carry over into the next week. There is NO NEED to reenter.

The last winner was from Jo from NY. Now on to this week's giveaway.

First up I have the second book by the winner of the Bram Stoker Award for Superior Achievement in a First novel, Michael Wehunt's Nightjars. From my Booklist review of this title: 

Following his award-winning debut, The October Film Haunt, Wehunt plunges readers deep into the mountains of Northern Georgia for an atmospheric, blood soaked, horror-crime hybrid. Luke and his ex-wife Kristin still care for each other; however, Luke’s addiction made their union no longer possible. When a date disappears on Luke, leaving behind a photo of him as a child, with a dead body and masked man in his bedroom, he is shaken, but then it gets worse, as the photos keep coming, more recent now, depicting a bloody Luke posing with murder victims. Simultaneously, exsanguinated bodies are also piling up in the area. Luke’s history of missing memories make him no longer able to trust himself. Told by Luke and Kristin as they fight to save what is left of Luke and protect their daughter from a similar fate, readers are led on a twisty, heart-wrenching, and discomfiting journey, one with plenty of surprises nesting in the woods where the nightjars live. For fans of Coffin Moon by Rosson and Devils Kill Devils by Compton.  

Three Words That Describe This Book: family secrets, extreme tension, horror-crime hybrid

Nightjars comes out on September 29th from St. Martin's Press who provided me with this ARC to give away to one of you.

And second, I have an ARC of one of two books Hailey Piper has out this Fall-- This Movie Doesn't End the Way We Want. From the book description: 

A woman, haunted by the disappearance of her sister and best friend thirty years ago uncovers the terrifying urban legend behind the last film they watched together, in this chilling riff on the cursed film subgenre by the Bram Stoker award-winning author of Queen of Teeth.

Perfect for fans of Gretchen Felker-Martin and Andrew Joseph White. I

n November 1994, three girls visit their local movie theater to see an obscure film. Only one of them is ever seen again.

Thirty years later, Val McQueen has never forgotten the day she lost her little sister and best friend, but she’s closed the curtain on it, certain she’s moved on despite her parents’ resentment and hounding by true crime enthusiasts.

That is until a stranger’s murder brings it all screaming back—a terror she’s tried to tell herself is only a movie. Enlisting the help of cinephile and former classmate Roxie de la Fontaine to find the film, Val soon realizes that hers is not the only pursuit. Someone, or something involved with the movie is on the hunt, too…

… For the girl who got away all those years ago.

Since Piper has 2 books coming out this Fall, I could not review both. I have the next Piper book read and the review turned in. (More soon including a giveaway.) I do not have a review for this one, but my colleague, Lila Denning, had this starred review which you all can read for free here.

This Movie Doesn't End the Way We Want comes out on September 15th from Titan books who provided me with this ARC to give away to one of you.

These two advanced copies are available this week to one winner.

Enter now and you are entered going forward. 

Good Luck!

#HorrorForLibraries Giveaway: 4 Book Creature Publishing Prize Pack Including a NEW Gwendolyn Kiste Novella

Today I have a four book prize pack, for one winner, from Creature Publishing, including one book I reviewed for Booklist Online back in June and a new Gwendolyn Kiste for which I have turned in a review and have extensive notes for here. To learn more about Creature Publishing click here as they were my featured small press for 31 Days of Horror in 2025. [Side note: I am compiling the essays for this year's featured publisher right now.] Details below but first, here are the rules on how to enter:

1. You need to be affiliated with an American Library. My rationale behind that is that I will be encouraging you to read these books and share them with patrons. While many of them are advanced reader copies that you cannot add to your collections, if you get the chance to read them, my hope is that you will consider ordering a copy for your library and give away the ARC away as a prize or pass it on to a fellow staff member.
2. If you are interested in being included in any giveaway at any time, you must email me at zombiegrl75 [at] gmail [dot] com with the subject line "#HorrorForLibraries." In the body of the email all you have to say is that you want to be entered and the name of your library.
3. Each entry will be considered for EVERY giveaway. Meaning you enter once, and you are entered until you win. I will randomly draw a winner on Fridays sometime after 5pm central. But only entries received by 5pm each week will be considered for that week. I use Random.org and have a member of my family witness the "draw"based off your number in the Google Sheet.
4. If you win, you are ineligible to win again for 4 weeks; you will have to re-enter after that time to be considered [I have a list of who has won, when, and what title]. However, if you do not win, you carry over into the next week. There is NO NEED to reenter.

The last winner was from Molly from GA. Now on to this week's giveaway. 

I have four ARCs for one winner from Creature Publishing. Again, to learn more about them, click here to see the feature I did on this small press last October, including Why I Love Horror essays by some of the authors included here.

Of the four books I am giving away, I have written Booklist reviews for two of them. As I mentioned  above, one is live already and the other is being published next month. 

First up, Witches of the Wheel by Lindsay Merbaum. Click here to access my review and detailed notes. But to give you a quick taste, here are my three words that describe this book: conversational storytelling, atmospheric, lesbians/goddesses/ witches

Next up, In These Gilded, Ghostly Hearts by Gwendolyn Kiste. I have turned in the review but it is not live yet. However, you can still access my detailed notes here. And, one the review is live, I will link to it on the blog in that Goodreads review. Here are my three words that describe this book: book about a book, immersive and visceral, reclaiming forgotten women (especially discarded daughters). 

The other two books for which I am giving ARCs away to this one lucky reader are The Patron Saint of White Menageries by Lauren T. Davila and Woodfeast by Meg Ripley. I highly recommend all 4 titles.

And in my October column for LJ I will have one more Creature title to highlight and give away. Here is a preview of that.

But for now, 4 books for one winner. 

Thank you to Creature for the ARCs.

Coming up in a few weeks I have a finished, hard cover copy of Ellen Datlow's latest anthology (to be paired with 2 other anthology ARCs) and so much more. 

Enter now and you are entered going forward. 

Good luck!