"A bizarre and fiercely original splatterpunk phantasmagoria of queerness. Deranged and gleefully weird as f*ck, this is an impressive debut from a singular literary talent." —Eric LaRocca

Annihilation meets Manhunt in three-time Hugo Award nominee Bitter Karella’s debut horror novel—a gloriously queer and irreverent psychedelic trip into the heart of an eldritch wood and the horrors of (cis)terhood.

I see something out there, in the woods. It does not have a face.

They call it the King’s Breakfast. One bite and you can understand the full scope of the universe; one bite and you can commune with forgotten gods beyond human comprehension. And it only grows deep in the Pamogo forest, where the trees crowd so tight that the forest floor is pitch black day and night, where rumors of disappearing hikers and strange cults that worship the divine feminine abound.

Sarah is a trans woman who makes her living growing mushrooms. When a bad harvest leaves her in a desperate fix, the lure of the King’s Breakfast has her journeying into those vast uncharted woods. But as she descends deeper, she realizes she's not alone. Something in the forest is waking up. It's hungry—and it wants her.

★ “As eldritch and grimy as the terrifying forest it’s set in. I loved this book!" —Trevor Henderson, author of Scarewaves

★ "Weird, wild, and oh-so-wretched, Moonflow is the trans botanical horror we need in the world right now." —Drew Huff, author of The Divine Flesh

★ “Is it legal to have this much fun reading a book? I’m in awe of Karella’s incredible gift for creating biting satire. I had a f*cking blast.” —Joe Koch, Shirley Jackson Award-nominated author of The Wingspan of Severed Hands

Format: Paperback

Author: Karella, Bitter

Publisher: Run For It

Pub Date: September 2, 2025

Category: Fiction / Horror

ISBN: 9780316581936

Evening House Books

Filters

Horror

The Cellar Below The Cellar

Moonflow

The Only Good Indians