Hellions by Julia Elliott
Finalist for the Southern Book Prize
"I am obsessed with these lush, feral stories."―Carmen Maria Machado, author of Her Body and Other Parties
“Beautiful, visceral, surprising stories, both wild and dangerous, with a Southern twang but universal appeal. Elliott is an Angela Carter for our times.”―Jeff VanderMeer, author of Absolution
A TIME Best Book of the Month
From the acclaimed author of The Wilds comes an electric story collection that blends folklore, fairy tales, Southern Gothic, and horror, reveling in the collision of the familiar with the wildly surreal.
- Sale Date
- ISBN
- 9781963108064
- Page Count
- 272
- Language
- English
- Dimensions
- 5½ x 8½
- Imprint
- Tin House
Meet the Author
Julia Elliott"I am obsessed with these lush, feral stories."―Carmen Maria Machado, author of Her Body and Other Parties
“Beautiful, visceral, surprising stories, both wild and dangerous, with a Southern twang but universal appeal. Elliott is an Angela Carter for our times.”―Jeff VanderMeer, author of Absolution
A TIME Best Book of the Month
From the acclaimed author of The Wilds comes an electric story collection that blends folklore, fairy tales, Southern Gothic, and horror, reveling in the collision of the familiar with the wildly surreal.
In a plague-stricken medieval convent, a nun works on a forbidden mystic manuscript, pining for Christ’s love. During a long, muggy July in rural South Carolina, an adolescent girl finds unexpected power as her family obsesses over the horror film The Exorcist. On the outskirts of a Southern college town, a young woman resists the tyranny of a shape-shifting older professor as she develops her own sorceress skills. And at a feminist art colony in the North Carolina mountains, a group of mothers contends with the supernatural talents their children have picked up from a pair of mysterious orphans who live in the woods.
With exuberance, ferocity, and astounding imagination, Julia Elliott’s Hellions jumps from the occult to the comic, from the horrific to the wondrous, presenting earthbound characters who long for the otherworldly.
Praise for Hellions
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“Swamp apes and Slim Jims populate the rural landscape of this collection, which swings from comedy to horror in stories about pet alligators, shape-shifting professors and more.”
New York Times Book Review -
“Incorporating elements of Southern gothic, fantasy, fairy tales, and other genres, [Hellions] showcases a fearless imagination.”
Washington Post -
“Feral fairytales with a gothic twist….Blurring the line between reality and fantasy, Hellions provides an unsettling look at what it means to be alienated in our technology-driven world.”
TIME, Best Book of April
About the Imprint
Where the literary canon of tomorrow is born. Critically acclaimed titles that challenge, illuminate, and linger. Discover award-winning fiction, nonfiction, and poetry from emerging voices you’ll say you found first.
