About this Event
Join us at Brookline Booksmith to celebrate the release of Herculine with author Grace Byron, in conversation with Gretchen Felker-Martin.
Register for the event!
RSVP to let us know you're coming! Depending on the volume of responses, an RSVP may be required for entrance to the event. In the event that we reach capacity and have to close RSVPs, there will not be a waiting list.
Get your copy!
EVENT ATTENDEES: Preorder your copy of Herculine through this page. Books will also be available for purchase at the event. Books can be picked up 30 minutes before the event in the event space.
CAN'T MAKE IT TO THE EVENT? Preorder the book here to have it signed, and choose to have it held for pickup or shipped from the store!
Book orders are processed for pickup or shipping after ticket sales have closed.
Event accessibility
- This event will take place at street level.
- If possible, events are livestreamed. Check out our store YouTube channel for livestream updates.
- ASL interpretation may be provided (based on the availability of interpreters) but must be requested at least 2 weeks in advance of the event.
- Please email us at [email protected] as soon as possible if you require ASL interpretation, guaranteed seating, or other accommodations. Seats are limited.We will do our best to serve your needs!
Herculine
A “paranoid, self-annihilating” (Gretchen Felker-Martin, author of Manhunt and Cuckoo) horror debut following a woman who seeks refuge at an all-trans girl commune only to discover that demons haunt her fellow comrades—and she's their next prey!
Herculine’s narrator has demons. Sure, her life includes several hallmarks of the typical trans girl sob story—conversion therapy, a string of shitty low-paying jobs, and even shittier exes—but she also regularly debates sleep paralysis demons that turn to mist soon after she wakes and carries vials of holy oil in her purse. Nothing, though, prepares her for the new malevolent force stalking her through the streets of New York City, more powerful than any she’s ever encountered. Desperate to escape this ancient evil, she flees to rural Indiana, where her ex-girlfriend started an all-trans girl commune in the middle of the woods.The secluded camp, named after 19th-century intersex memoirist Herculine Barbin, is a scrappy operation, but the shared sense of community among the girls is a welcome balm to the narrator’s growing isolation and paranoia. Still, something isn’t quite right at Herculine. Girls stop talking as soon as she enters the room, everyone seems to share a common secret, and the books lining the walls of the library harbor strange cryptograms. Soon what once looked like an escape becomes a trap all its own.While trying to untangle the commune’s many mysteries, the narrator contends with disemboweled pigs, cultlike psychosexual rituals, and the horrors of communal breakfast. And before long, she discovers that her demons have followed her. And this time, they won’t be letting her go.
Grace Byron is a writer from the Midwest based in Queens. Her writing has appeared in The New Yorker, New York Magazine, The Nation, and Vogue, among other outlets. Find her @emotrophywife. Herculine is her debut novel.
Gretchen Felker-Martin is a Massachusetts-based bestselling horror author and film critic. Her debut novel, Manhunt, was named the #1 Best Book of 2022 by Vulture, and was one of the Best Horror Novels of 2022 by Esquire, Library Journal, and Paste. Her sophomore novel, Cuckoo, debuted on the USA Today bestseller list. You can read her fiction and film criticism on Patreon and in TIME, The Outline, Nylon, and more.
About Brookline Booksmith
Brookline Booksmith, thriving in the heart of Coolidge Corner in Brookline, Massachusetts, since 1961, is one of New England’s premier independent bookstores. We offer a vast selection of books, ranging from current bestsellers to the most eclectic titles. We are also known for our beautiful and inspired gifts. Customers buy and sell gently used books in our treasured Used Book Cellar and enjoy our bountiful bargain book selection. We host award-winning events series (including our groundbreaking Transnational Literature Series), offering more than 300 author talks, community conversations, and book clubs annually. Find more at brooklinebooksmith.com!
Event Venue & Nearby Stays
Brookline Booksmith, 279 Harvard Street, Brookline, United States
USD 0.00 to USD 45.04
