A.G. Slatter's Blog

 

Excerpt from a letter written by Ellie Briar regarding the threat from the North…

“I write now because I believe the threat is becoming manifest. There are whispers from the North, that the Anchorhold and whatever resides there is moving. An increase in its foot soldiers, leaders deposed in the few powerful cities and anarchy left to reign, and rumours of a black miracle to come and the Darklands set free of the border that keeps us all safe.

Our friends on the other side of that self-same border do their best to discover more, but are hampered by their condition, and their source inside the Anchorhold fell silent some weeks since. I am told, however, that the two who come have been set into play, or shall be very soon. The Hidden One will, with luck and our best contrivances, make haste to you. We beg and bid you render them any and all aid – the gods know they’ll need it.

Should the border fall, Silverton will be first in its path. Should the border fall, the Briar Witches may well be safe from the predations of the Leech Lords, however we will no longer have protection against the malice of the church, and there will be nothing to save us from the god-hounds.

Be ready: dark times are coming, my sister in shadow. I fear it will take all our resources and more to survive them.”

UPDATE: There are three spots left on this next “drop” of Sourdough ephemera… These photos are ones I stole from @generalsheenanigans of her little bits of Sourdough ephemera (she got them framed, that’s on her!) so you can see a finished version. One is a little tale freshly written by Miren O’Malley for her own new book of tales, the other is a letter from Ellie Briar warning of danger from the Darklands and a cover letter from Cordelia Lawrence who got the letter by mistake… So: new microfictions with marginalia by the excellent @tanaudel. Your choice of a microfiction or letter or shopping list or ransom demand or diary entry or recipe for a spell written by me at your request. Want a letter from one of my characters in either of the gothic fantasy novels, All the Murmuring Bones, The Path of Thorns, The Briar Book of the Dead or The Crimson Road? Or even the forthcoming A Forest, Darkly? A love letter from Eli to Asher? A call to arms by Ellie Briar in the oncoming Witches’ War? A prophecy about the return of the Leech Lords?  Want to know what happened to an obscure character in the mosaic collections Sourdough and Other Stories, The Bitterwood Bible and Other Recountings, or The Tallow-Wife and Other Tales, or the novellas Of Sorrow and Such and The Bone Lantern? Want a folktale about mer-queens, wolf-wives, leech lords, shifters, trolls-witches, the true history of the dead bride in “No Good Deed”? Or have even “The Summer Husband” done as a one-off chapbook? Email me at me@angelaslatter.com to discuss the price, etc, and what you’d like created for you and who you’d most like to hear from in the Sourdough World. Delivery timeline: end of November 2025. So, perfectly in time for Christmas or as birthday gifts for those unfortunate enough to be born on 31 Dec so everyone forgets… Make them feel special.

I’m completely in love with the cover for the Spanish translation of The Path of Thorns – Una Senda De Espinas!

The artwork is by Ismael Pinteño, translation by Carla B. Estruch, published by Duermevela Ediciones

Greetings once again, readers and friends of the Sourdough Universe!

I’m offering ten (10) new microfictions with marginalia by the excellent @tanaudel.

Your choice of a microfiction or letter or shopping list or ransom demand or diary entry or recipe for a spell written by me at your request.

Want a letter from one of my characters in either of the gothic fantasy novels, All the Murmuring Bones, The Path of Thorns, The Briar Book of the Dead or The Crimson Road? Or even the forthcoming A Forest, Darkly? A love letter from Eli to Asher? A call to arms by Ellie Briar in the oncoming Witches’ War? A prophecy about the return of the Leech Lords?

Want to know what happened to an obscure character in the mosaic collections Sourdough and Other Stories, The Bitterwood Bible and Other Recountings, or The Tallow-Wife and Other Tales, or the novellas Of Sorrow and Such and The Bone Lantern?

Want a folktale about mer-queens, wolf-wives, leech lords, shifters, trolls-witches, the true history of the dead bride in “No Good Deed”? Or have even “The Summer Husband” done as a one-off chapbook?

Email me at me@angelaslatter.com to discuss the price, etc, and what you’d like created for you and who you’d most like to hear from in the Sourdough World.

Delivery timeline: end of November 2025. So, perfectly in time for Christmas or as birthday gifts for those unfortunate enough to be born on 31 Dec so everyone forgets… Make them feel special.

Absolutely over the moon for the cover of A Forest, Darkly to be released into the wild! Many thanks to the wonderful Mother Horror, Sadie Hartmann, for the insta reveal Artwork by Natasha Mackenzie and to be published by Titan Books in Feb of 2026. A page-turning dark fantasy of persecuted witches, snatched children, twisted magic, changelings and the sins that bind. Set in the author’s acclaimed dark fairy-tale inspired Sourdough Universe, this standalone story sits alongside previous novels, including the multi-award-winning The Path of Thorns.Mehrab the witch’s solitary existence is disrupted when a young woman appears on her doorstep seeking shelter, pursued by godhounds who wish to destroy all those practising magic. As Mehrab teaches the girl how to control her powers, together they forge a cure for their isolation with heartbreaking consequences… Meanwhile, in the local village, children begin to disappear, sometimes returning forever changed. Sinister offerings appear on Mehrab’s doorstep, and a dark power pursues her through the trees. As the villagers turn hostile and the godhounds close in, Mehrab finds herself at the centre of a struggle to save the soul of the forest, the life of an old love – and her own new-formed family. A bewitching gothic tale; haunting, gripping and written with wit and heart, this is a book to both savour and devour. Pre-order links:USAmazon US: https://www.amazon.com/Forest-Darkly-G-Slatter/dp/1835412564Barnes & Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/…/a-forest…/1147411535 UKAmazon UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Forest-Darkly-G…/dp/1835412564Forbidden Planet: https://forbiddenplanet.com/456994-a-forest-darkly/Waterstones: https://www.waterstones.com/…/a-g-slatter/9781835412565 Or your local, favourite indie bookseller!    

This is one of the prettiest books I’ve ever been in – Titan’s really pushed out the boat for The Secret Romantic’s Book of Magic.

Edited by Marie O’Regan and Paul Kane, this anthology contains twelve Romantasy stories of every shade.

Lost lovers return for a second chance –? but what are their motives? Academic rivals compete for a prestigious position, but their sizzling chemistry might get in the way. A monster slayer? posing as an unwitting sacrifice meets an intriguingly moral prince.

From relationships caught ?in disparate timelines to ghostly ballrooms and dragons that need rescuing from princesses, this anthology gives you an inventive new spin on all your favorite tropes, and much more that you’ve never seen before.

FEATURING BRAND-NEW STORIES FROM:
Olivie Blake
A. G. Slatter
Tasha Suri
Katherine Arden
Kelley Armstrong
Hannah N. Maehrer
Melissa Marr
Megan Bannen
Kelly Andrew
Kamilah Cole
A. C. Wise
Eliza Chan

Purchase from your favourite local bookstore or these suppliers:

US

– Barnes & Noble**

– Books A Million (BAM) 

– Amazon.com

 

Canada

– Indigo

– Amazon.ca

 

UK

– Waterstones

– Forbidden Planet

– Bookshop.org

– Amazon.co.uk

I’m honoured to have a short story in the new anthology from NewCon Press, Blood in the Bricks, edited by Neil Williamson. There’s an impressive ToV and the anthology will be launched at World Fantasy Con in Brighton this year.

Pre-order here.

Tales of the city redolent with ritual and drenched in dread.  Folk Horror is primarily associated with isolated settings and weird beliefs. Traditionally the isolated setting is rural, but our cities have been around for a long time too, their histories constructed layer upon layer, their secrets long kept and buried deep. And there are other types of isolation than geographical remoteness: housing schemes and suburbs, gilded business districts and gated communities, industrial wastelands and crumbling tower blocks…  Who knows what our old bricks were made of or what lies beneath our brightly lit pavements? Who knows what superstitions have been passed down the generations and who knows what goes on behind the locked doors of the community centre? Editor Neil Williamson has assembled a cadre of gifted writers to explore these chilling issues and much much more.  Contents:Down Street – James BennettDanse Macabre – Kim Lakin Hagstone – Tracy FaheyGerädert Fühlen – Steve Toase The Inverse Nurse – Ian WhatesOpen Studios – E Saxey Escape Notice – Tim MajorLarking – Phil SlomanWhen the Blood Runs Dry – Lyndsey CroalA Tiding – Timothy J JarvisOur Sister of Blackthorn – Dan CoxonOne of The Rotten Ones – Matthew HopkinsThe Rope Swing – Penny JonesA Pinch of Salt – Joanna CorranceA Body’s Got to Have Hope – Angela SlatterThe Call – James EveringtonFulfilment – Harvey Welles & Phil RainesExtraction – Don RedwoodFlip – Ray Cluley

Delighted and honoured to have been awarded the University of Tasmania’s Hedberg Residency! I’ll be in Tasmania from August to October (inclusive) to work on a new novel, do some teaching, and generally be a writer-in-residence for 3 months. I’m also hoping to be able to launch my new Titan novella, The Cold House, while I’m in Hobart!

Here’s the full text of the media release from UTas:

 

Fantasy author Angela Slatter to be 2025 Hedberg Writer-in-Residence

 

Multi-award-winning fantasy, horror and supernatural crime author Angela Slatter will be the 2025 Hedberg Writer-in-Residence at the University of Tasmania.

Dr Slatter has been awarded the $30,000 residency and will spend three months in Hobart writing, working with students and taking part in community conversations.

She will use the time to progress work on a new novel titled A Book for the End of the World.

“I’m deeply grateful to be this year’s recipient of the Hedberg residency,” Dr Slatter said.

“Opportunities such as this are rare and the chance to be able to create in a new environment, working on my next novel for a dedicated three months is something I’m very much looking forward to.

“I’m also looking forward to interacting with the university’s creative writing students and hopefully being able to value-add to their study experience.”

Queenslander Dr Slatter’s major publications include the gothic fantasy/horror novels All The Murmuring Bones (2021), The Path of Thorns (2022), The Briar Book of the Dead (2024), The Crimson Road (2025) and the forthcoming A Forest Darkly (2026); the urban fantasy/supernatural crime novels Vigil (2016), Corpselight (2017) and Restoration (2018); as well as 12 short story collections and a collaboration with Hellboy Universe comics founder Mike Mignola, Castle Full of Blackbirds (2023).

She has won a World Fantasy Award, a British Fantasy Award, a Shirley Jackson Award, three Australian Shadows Awards, eight Aurealis Awards, and a Ditmar Award. She’s been shortlisted for the Dublin Literary Award and the Queensland Literary Awards Book of the Year.

Angela will arrive in Hobart in August to take up the residency, working on her novel, mentoring creative writing students and taking part in public discussions.

Selection committee chair and Senior Lecturer in English Dr Robert Clarke said the University was thrilled to welcome its fifth Hedberg Writer-in-Residence.

“Many Tasmanian readers will already be familiar with and fans of Angela’s award-winning and bestselling fiction,” Dr Clarke said. “And I know our students and staff will relish the opportunity to engage with Angela and learn from a writer of such deep experience.

“I am sure, too, that local writers will appreciate the chance to join Angela in our program of public workshops and masterclasses.”

2024 Hedberg Writer-in-Residence, selection committee member and recent recipient of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers Association’s Kate Wilhelm Solstice Award Eugen Bacon said Dr Slatter’s innovative new project showed her great versatility as a writer. 

“Angela Slatter is doing remarkable work in her body of works on feminist gothic fairy tales, new wine in old skins in a postmodern take of retelling stories, where she heroes girls and women,” Dr Bacon said.

The Hedberg Writer-in-Residence program is offered by the English and Writing program in the School of Humanities, with support from the Copyright Agency’s Cultural Fund. It is open to established fiction or non-fiction writers, in all genres, who are resident in Australia.

Previous recipients also include Tasmanian author Robbie Arnott, who used the residency to work on his 2023 Age Book of the Year Limberlost and Gail Jones, whose recently released novel One Another was also written during her residency.

 

I’m delighted to say that I’m now represented by Becky LeJeune of the Bond Literary Agency!

I’ve admired Becky’s client list for a while and have kept an eye on the work she’s been doing, and have been continually impressed, so needless to say I’m extremely happy to have her as my literary agent.

I’m really excited for this next stage of my writing career. Onward and upward!

I’m honoured to see The Briar Book of the Dead as a finalist in this year’s Australian Shadows Awards! And look at the fantastic company she’s in!

Novel
“The Briar Book of the Dead” by Angela Slatter (Titan Publishing)
“Jasper Cliff” by Joshua Kemp (Fremantle Press)
“Remedy” by JS Brukelaar (PS Publishing)
“The Underhistory” by Kaaron Warren (Viper Books, UK)
“The Dead Spot” by Caroline Angel (Red Cape Publishing)

The full lists are here and congrats to all the finalists! https://australasianhorror.com/austra...