#HorrorForLibraries Giveaway: Japanese Gothic and The Glowing Hours (2 Winners)

The giveaway is back for 2026. Today I have 2 ARCs from my January 2026 LJ Horror Review Column available for 2 winners. 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 most recent winner was Krista from IL. Now on to this week's giveaway.

I have two books from my January Horror Review column in Library Journal to offer up to 2 winners today. You can use the links below to read my full draft reviews.

First up, Japanese Gothic by Kylie Lee Baker (two time frames, dreamlike/nightmarish, strong sense of place), a title that was an unequivocal star for me. The only problem with this book is that the title is not great. I know they did it to make reference to Mexican Gothic, but here's the thing, this book is not a readalike for that book. Baker's novel is a spectacular, thought provoking, and chilling story about how the past ties itself to the present in ways humans cannot comprehend or explain, and that may be the most terrifying realization of all. There is also an interview by me with Baker in the print issue. I will add the link to my review when it comes up online.

The second name I draw will win a copy of The Glowing Hours by Leila Siddiqui (Gothic, retelling, menacing). This novel injects supernatural horror and very real danger into the story of the creation of Frankenstein, the novel, as it tells the "real" story behind a minor character in the source material-- Safie an Arabian maid. Retellings are popular in Horror, especially those that tell the classic's story from a marginalized perspective (and this one even put s twist on "marginalization" as Mehr is rich, but because she is brown, she is not equal), but The Glowing Hours is not a product of simply following a trend. This is a solid horror novel that will find a wide audience, especially as we enter Oscar season and del Toro's Frankenstein film will be up for awards.

Winners will be drawn for the books in the order they are listed here. Remember, if you enter once, you are entered going forward.

Good Luck!

2026 Horror Books Preview Part 1 with Backlist Access

Right before the end of 2025, I made what has become an 2x a year appearance on ARC Party with Robb Olson and Emily Hughes. This time we did the Jan-June 2026 Horror Preview. You can watch and/or listen here.

We have been doing these in December and June every year since December 2024, previewing the entire year in 2 epic podcasts where we each highlight 2 books per month for 6 months.

Robb made this amazing playlist of 5 existing podcasts so you can pursue them all. And without my prompting Robb did this and said it is because these books don't have a shelf life, you can read them anytime. 

My backlist promoting librarian heart was filled with this comment. He is 100% correct. And of you pair our previews with Emily Hughes' much more comprehensive lists, you get a very full picture of the horror genre over the last 6 years.

Emily's lists are always accessible-- current and backlist going back to 2020-- here. From that link you can break things down by year and even month.

Emily's lists should be your first stop for all of your horror collection development needs. What you should order ahead of time. What you missed that you can go back and add. There is even some readalike information in there with titles including annotations and comps. 

We love bringing you this episode 2x a year. It is a good amount of work but we all know it is worth it. It highlights Emily's work and provides an entry into the mass of information she has gathered while also shining a spotlight on the horror genre specifically. We even talk about trends we are seeing now that we have 5 of these under our belts.

Take a peek at the list for 2026 and give our podcast a listen as you are thinking about helping your horror readers in 2026 and beyond.

Speaking of that, I will have a whole bunch of reviews (by me) of upcoming 2026 Horror from the January 2026 issues of Library Journal and Booklist to round out the week here on the blog, and a giveaway of 2 of those titles on the Horror blog. Stay tuned!

Click here to access 2026 Part 1