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THE LION’S TUSK by Robert Jackson Bennett

Jul 282026
 

An eccentric detective turns to the fantastical to solve a cold case in a short story by the Hugo Award–winning author of The Tainted Cup.

On a long carriage journey with her assistant Din, brilliant investigator Ana Dolabra ponders a solution to an impossible crime that has remained unsolved for centuries. A lavish wedding for two noble scions of the Empire descended into chaos when the newlyweds were found murdered in their marriage bed. But Ana—an expert in ancient myths, awakened beasts, and magic—knows that nothing is impossible, only unimaginable.

 July 28, 2026  Tagged with: ,

Review: THE UNHAUNTING by Micaiah Johnson

Jul 202026
 

Publishers Weekly: Johnson (Those Beyond the Wall) breathes new life into an old horror trope in this clever inversion of the classic haunted house story. The building at its center is a Civil War–era family home in rural Mississippi, recently inherited by Avery Abernathy. Determined to turn it into a peaceful sanctuary from hectic city life, Avery sets about renovating the place with help from his moody older brother, Tobias, and his close friend Shantell. They quickly sense that something about the dwelling is, if not wrong, then too right: local history suggests the house and its residents have escaped every misfortune that has plagued the surrounding town for over a century. Meanwhile, the central trio’s maladies, including anxiety and nicotine addiction, fade away within the house’s walls. Still, weirdness abounds: the exterior indicates an attic that’s not accessible from the inside, and mysterious figures appear in the windows. And if the house is indeed manipulating their perceptions, memories, and emotions, it must have its reasons. Johnson largely sidesteps ghostly phenomena to keep the focus on her well-developed Black protagonists, each of whom is haunted by past traumas the house exploits for its own macabre purposes. She also allows the house to speak directly to the reader, revealing designs that transcend those typically ascribed to horror’s well-known malignant dwellings. This chiller will be a hit with anyone seeking a fresh take on genre conventions. (Sept.)

 July 20, 2026  Tagged with: ,

THE EYE OF LEVIATHAN by M. A. Carrick

Jul 142026
 

In an alternate Spanish Golden Age, the Council of the Sea Beyond has risen to unrivaled power, exploiting the Otherworld’s most precious resources for their own gain. Estevan seeks to uncover their secrets, but he risks the exposure of his own: that he is a faerie, masquerading as a mortal.

The Hungry Girl is the human whose place he took. Lost among the fae and desperate to find some purpose for her existence, she leaps at the chance to help a group of Spanish explorers in the Sea Beyond … only to be horrified at the atrocities they commit.

A faerie pact has separated them—but only together can they bring down Spain’s worlds-spanning empire and save the homes they have both come to love.

 July 14, 2026  Tagged with: ,

Ursula K. Le Guin 2026 Prize for Fiction Shortlist!

Jul 102026
 

Congratulations to DMLA authors Premee Mohamed (One Message Remains) and Tashan Mehta (Mad Sisters of Esi) for making the 2026 Ursula K. Le Guin Prize for Fiction shortlist!

 July 10, 2026  Tagged with: , ,

Review: DON’T CROSS MO ELLERY by Birdie Horne

Jul 092026
 

Publishers Weekly: Eden Robins (Remember You Will Die) and MW Garguilo (The Stupendous Switcheroo) join forces under a new pseudonym for this witty and wacky millennial sleuthing story. After 29-year-old Mo Ellery loses her Chicago office job, her boyfriend, and her apartment all at once, she becomes a school crossing guard. When her daily nemesis, whom she’s nicknamed “Poodle Dude” for the dogs he drives around recklessly in his Kia Sportage, ends up dead in a sinkhole near Mo’s crosswalk, Claudia, an energetic old woman who has been refusing her assistance crossing the street, claims there’s foul play involved. She insists Mo take the dogs home and help her investigate. Though Mo is reluctant, Claudia’s bullying and the help of clever pink-haired tween Marlowe rope her into an investigation that intensifies when another character ends up dead. Mo is an appealingly reluctant investigator, and her disappointments and romantic troubles will resonate with readers trying to make their lives work in their 20s and 30s. The authors maintain a bright tone throughout, leaning more into social hijinks than thriller beats, but for mystery fans in Mo’s demographic, this is a winningly relatable diversion.

 July 9, 2026  Tagged with: ,

MCCAMMON’S SHOPPE OF OLDE CURIOSITIES by Robert McCammon

Jul 072026
 

Featuring two Bram Stoker Award–winning tales, McCammon’s Shoppe of Olde Curiosities is a career-spanning collection gathering nineteen short stories showcasing the author’s imaginative range of frightening terror, fantastical worldbuilding, and characters confronting the unknown around them and within themselves.

Pursuing a life of celebrity fame, Erik Van Helsing’s desire to cash in on his famous family’s name as vampire hunters unveils a legacy he cannot escape in “Blood is Thicker Than Hollywood”―a spinoff tale from the novel They Thirst.

A woman surviving in a post-apocalyptic landscape fights off loneliness when she reads aloud to the “Children of the Bedtime Machine”―a tribute to the wondrous storytelling style of Ray Bradbury.

As “Death Comes for the Rich Man” in 1703 Colonial America, Matthew Corbett is hired to delay the Grim Reaper to give a regretful old sinner time to make amends with his estranged daughter.

 July 7, 2026  Tagged with: ,

Starred Review: A TRADE OF BLOOD by Robert Jackson Bennett

Jul 012026
 

Publishers Weekly: Bennett continues to make genre-blending appear effortless in his stellar third Ana and Din novel (after 2025’s A Drop of Corruption), a suspenseful whodunit set in an immersive and imaginative alternate world. The endearing duo of Ana Dolabra, an eccentric genius, and her assistant, Imperial Investigator Din Kol, whose augmented abilities allow him to perfectly recall crime scenes, are tasked with probing a murder. The solution initially appears obvious: Castus Armenta, a member of a powerful family, was seen fleeing an inn covered in blood; the butchered corpse of his secret lover from a rival family, Zansay Burav, was then discovered within. But as the Burav clan cries for Castus’s head, Ana and Din’s examination of the murder site reveals anomalies, most notably that the victim herself seems to have deliberately staged some aspects of the scene after being attacked. For his part, Castus has no discernible motive and no memory of what happened. The investigative scope widens as each of Castus’s three siblings also perish under odd circumstances. Meanwhile, an unexpected reunion unsettles Din, one of several complications in his personal life that could impact the inquiry. The case is as clever and fairly clued as ever, and it’s a pleasure to revisit these sharply drawn characters. This series shows no signs of slowing down.

 July 1, 2026  Tagged with: ,

EVERYBODY’S PERFECT by Jo Walton

Jun 302026
 

The Serenissima is built from mist and belief, a mythical shadow sister to Venice and crossroads of the nine worlds.

When a laborer called Tiry has a dream that Serenissima will have a doge, and that they will marry the sea, he tells it to a fortune teller named Khadsha. She tells her apprentice, a gondolier called Taddeo, who tells a cop named Gom, who’s heard it from five people this morning already. And by that point, it’s already settled into the bones of the Serenissima, more than half-fated.

Everybody’s Perfect is a gentle, shifting, structurally inventive narrative of startling beauty that will make you rethink everything you think you know about fantasy.

 June 30, 2026  Tagged with: ,

June Translation Deals

Jun 302026
 

Czech rights to Melissa K. Roehrich’s TEMPEST OF WRATH AND VENGEANCE, to Albatros Media, by Nada Popovic at Prava I Prevodi, on behalf of Katie Shea Boutillier.

Polish rights to Robert McCammon’s THE RIVER OF SOULS, to Vesper (Poland), by Prava I Prevodi, on behalf of Katie Shea Boutillier for Cameron McClure.

 

 June 30, 2026  Tagged with: , , ,

THE BLOODWEAVER by C.N. Kuster

Jun 232026
 

Three generations ago, ancient and mysterious beings introduced the world to the arcane art of Bloodweaving, which allows its practitioners to manipulate life with merely a touch. Now, Bloodweavers must hide in plain sight or risk being hunted by violent regime soldiers known as Breakers, who will stop at nothing to eradicate weaving once and for all.

Though his family’s vineyard has flourished thanks to Bloodweaving, Kerick DeLuvena has kept his powers a secret from everyone, including his beloved fellow triplets, Mel and Emiel. When a squad of Breakers arrives on the day of Emiel’s wedding, Kerick weaves himself a new face and flees to protect his family, setting out in search of the Ravel, a secret society of Bloodweavers who stand on the precipice of an uprising.

Meanwhile, Mel’s girlfriend is identified as a Bloodweaver and arrested. Devastated by so much loss, Mel hatches a plan to get captured in the same raid, hoping to protect her love at all costs, even if it means allying herself with the Breakers’ ruthless commander and serving the very force that tore her family apart.

As the consequences of the siblings’ diverging paths ripple across a divided and hostile world, both must eventually face the same question: Is Bloodweaving a miracle―or a curse?

 June 23, 2026  Tagged with: ,
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