Dark Summer Book Fest 2026!

On Saturday, August 8, I'll be at Dark Summer Book Fest! Mostly, I'll be tabling and selling zines, but I'll also be on a panel:

Loving the Monster 1:10-1:50pm  (Costin Room)

     - Kathryn Ann Kingsley (moderator/panelist)
    - M.J. Etkind
    - Aleese Lin
    - Kayla Cottingham
    - Laurie Faria Stolarz

This is the first time Dark Summer Book Fest has been held. I'm excited to see how it goes!

NecronomiCon-Providence 2026 🦑

NecronomiCon-Providence is held every two years and I'm happy to say I'm involved in programming once again! I'll be there all weekend August 13-16, 2026.

Here's my schedule:

Corporate Horror. Biltmore Ballroom, Graduate 17th Floor
Friday, August 14, 2026 9:30 AM 
Cubicles, paperwork, horrible bosses and unseen masters. Ligotti, Ballard, and others have explored the strange and terrifying world that unfolds under the baleful eye and soulless indifference of corporate ownership. Our panelists explore the hellscapes of Late-Stage Capitalism’s 9 5 and how these hellscapes serve as an excellent backdrop for exploring the Cosmic’s most common themes of existentialism and human insignificance. Panelists: John Foster (Moderator), Gillian Daniels, Errick Nunnally, Jeff VanderMeer.


That Abandoned Mall is Still Playing Music: Theory and History of Hauntology. Biltmore Ballroom, Graduate 17th Floor

Friday, August 14, 2026 11:00 AM

There’s no standard definition, but “hauntology” generally refers to the persistence of the ghosts of a possible future that did not come. On a small scale, it’s an abandoned home’s dead Christmas tree with still-wrapped, decaying gifts beneath. On a larger one, it’s the formerly “utopian” city of Pripyat or a landscape/city scarred or destroyed by war. While in a physical sense, hauntology drives many urban explorers, the ideological ghosts of the past haunt our daily lives. Our panelists discuss left-behind futures in architecture and design, language and social conventions, arts, and social structures—because the dreams we had for the future don’t matter to the passage of time. Panelists: Gillian Daniels (Moderator), Gabriel Mesa, Allen B. Ruch, Matthew Spencer, Sonya Taaffe, Jeff VanderMeer.

Author Readings. Narragansett Bay Room, Graduate by Hilton 17th Floor
Saturday, August 15, 2026 5:00 PM

Christa Carmen; Kristin Dearborn; Gillian Daniels; T. L. Wiswell

Weird Film from the Pre-Code Era. South County Room, Omni 3rd Floor
Sunday, August 16, 2026 2:00 PM

The 1934 Motion Picture Production Code (“The Hays Code”) had a devastating impact on creativity and free expression in Hollywood. Pre-Hays Code films challenge much of the conventional wisdom about America’s early motion pictures: portrayals of marginalized groups, depictions of sex and sexuality, and complex explorations of criminal, supernatural, or horrific topics. Panelists consider Hollywood’s Pre-Code era specifically in light of the Weird. What characterizes or defines Hollywood’s Pre-Code Weird? What films and directors should every cinephile and connoisseur of the Weird know? Panelists: Gwen Callahan (Moderator), Matthew Cheney, Gillian Daniels, Sonya Taaffe.

GoodReads Giveaway for Jenny Will Eat You Now!

Woo! You have two weeks to enter a GoodReads giveaway for my debut novel!

Camp Necon 2026

I'm back at Camp Necon (7/16/26-7/19/26) this year! Along with just hanging around, here's my official schedule:


Friday, 1:00 p.m. EDT Behind the Scares: Social Commentary in Horror Fiction

Clay McLeod Chapman, Gillian Daniels, Matthew H. Jones, Aquino Loayza, Bracken MacLeod (Moderator), Wendy Maxon, Errick Nunnally

Good horror can frighten and entertain, but often it also has something to say. Our panelists discuss how to turn important issues of the day into hair-raising allegorical horror that still keeps readers turning the pages.

Friday, 10:30 p.m. Horror on the Rocks

Hosted by Mike Myers; Featuring readings by Christa Carmen, Johnny Compton, Gillian Daniels & Clay McLeod Chapman

Mike Myers continues the tradition of late-night readings at Camp Necon, as some of our best and brightest share their work with us. Held (with a microphone!) on the big rock in the middle of our quad.

Saturday, BREAKOUT: 11:00 a.m. EDT Always Look on the Bright Side of Life: The Official Camp Necon Brag Session

Gillian Daniels, Chris Philbrook, Dr. Jaime Chris Weida (Discussion Leaders)

Come share news of your recent successes with your peers, whether it’s a new publication, finishing a novel, or writing your very first story! Feel free to brag on other people, too: friends, colleagues, or favorite authors! Let’s lift each other up and celebrate our good news!

Reviews from Library Journal and Publishers Weekly!

I was very lucky last week. My debut novel, Jenny Will Eat You Now, is out on September 29, but trade magazines are already reviewing the book. 

This includes Library Journal:

And Publishers Weekly has given my book a glowing review:

I'm so pleased there are people that I don't know who are not just reading the book but who get it. This is wonderful. I started bouncing when the publicist at Gallery/Simon&Schuster sent these my way. I'm really honored.

Outside of trade publications, there are some people on GoodReads with advanced copies who have also left some kind thoughts. I know reviews like this really aren't for authors so much as other readers, but wow. My heart is so full. Thank you for seeing me and certainly thank you for giving Jenny a chance.

Readercon 2026!

The Readercon 2026 schedule is out! This year, I'm on programming about cannibalism, our current political horrors, and, most nefarious of all, hope.

See you there!

Writing Horror in Horrifying Times

Salon A/B Thursday, July 9, 2026, 8:00 PM EDT

Terence Taylor (m), F. Brett Cox, Gillian Daniels, Ian Muneshwar, Mike Allen, Scott Edelman

From its opening in 1897 to its closing in 1962, the Théâtre du Grand-Guignol in Paris specialized in horror shows. In an interview conducted after its closure, its last director explained, 'We could never compete with Buchenwald. Before the war, everyone believed that what happened on stage was purely imaginary; now we know that these things--and worse--are possible." How does one produce meaningful horror fiction when the tools feel blunted by reality? What elements of horror have retained their effectiveness in the face of daily headlines?

Defining the Monstrous

Mike Allen (m), Catt Kingsgrave, F. Brett Cox, Gillian Daniels, Kit Sedia 

Salon A/B Thursday, July 9, 2026, 9:00 PM EDT

From Grendel to the cultured medieval werewolf tales of Marie de France to the contemporary novels of John Wiswell, defining and understanding the monstrous has always been a task we set ourselves, alongside defining humanity itself. Who gets to decide what a monster is? How have these definitions changed and shifted? And what does it mean when the boundary between human and monster disappears entirely?

Literary Cannibalism

Lark Morgan Lu (m), Charles Allison, Gillian Daniels, Jessica Levai, Sunny Moraine 

Salon C/D Saturday, July 11, 2026, 2:00 PM EDT

In Tender Is the Flesh-Eating: The Literary Cannibal as Exploitation and Desire, Wen-yi Lee asks, "What’s up with all the cannibals right now?" and suggests that "cannibalism is the perfect mechanism to explore different wants to possess a body: be it wanting to exploit, wanting to enact revenge, or wanting as loving desire." Let's discuss the literary cannibal, and what stories about very literally consuming each other accomplish.

This Group Reading Will Eat You Now

Andrea Martinez Corbin, Gillian Daniels, Ian Muneshwar

Empower / Embrace Saturday, July 11, 2026, 7:00 PM EDT

A group reading featuring stories (not all involving cannibalism) by Andrea Martinez Corbin, Gillian Daniels, and Ian Muneshwar.

The Limits of Hope: A Meditation on Fiction as an Activist Force

E. C. Ambrose (m), Daniel José Older, Gillian Daniels, Marissa Lingen, Michael J. DeLuca

Salon C/D Sunday, July 12, 2026, 10:00 AM EDT

In a keynote at the 2025 Locus Awards, Sarah Gailey challenged the focus on literature conferring hope on the reader, asking, "Are we here to provide comfort to the inert? Are we here to reassure people that experiencing a positive feeling is the end of their work?" They noted that hopelessness, fear, and despair all can be motivating, but regardless, "you are also powerful enough to act on your principles even when they oppose your emotions." How can we keep a clear eye about the practical effects of stories? How can we take lessons from fiction and writing and apply them to activism?