We Mostly Come Out at Night: 15 Queer Tales of Monsters, Angels & Other Creatures
- Subject
- LGBTQ+ - General
- Age
- Teen
- Format
- Hardcover
- Pages
- 384
- Publisher
- Running Press
- ISBN
- 9780762483198
An empowering cross-genre YA anthology that explores what it means to be a monster, exclusively highlighting trans and queer authors who offer new tales and perspectives on classic monster stories and tropes.
Be not afraid! These monsters, creatures, and beasties are not what they appear. We Mostly Come Out at Night is a YA anthology that reclaims the monstrous for the LGBTQA+ community while exploring how there is freedom and power in embracing the things that make you stand out. Each story centers on both original and familiar monsters and creatures—including Mothman, Carabosse, a girl with thirteen shadows, a living house, werebeasts, gorgons, sirens, angels, and many others—and their stories of love, self-acceptance, resilience, and empowerment. This collection is a bold, transformative celebration of queerness and the creatures that (mostly) go bump in the night.
Contributors include editor Rob Costello, Kalynn Bayron, David Bowles, Shae Carys, H.E. Edgmon, Michael Thomas Ford, Val Howlett, Brittany Johnson, Naomi Kanakia, Claire Kann, Jonathan Lenore Kastin, Sarah Maxfield, Sam J. Miller, Alexandra Villasante, and Merc Fenn Wolfmoor.
Winner of the 2025 CNY Book Award for Children’s Books
Lambda Literary Award Finalist
Locus Award Finalist
Yalsa Quick Picks for Reluctant Readers: Fiction
Bram Stoker Award Finalist
Cybils Award Finalist
New York Public Library Best Book for Teens
Notable Young Adult Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Horror Book by Reactor Magazine
Recommended Reading List by Locus Magazine
A Best of 2024 Young Adult Horror and Dark Fiction by Ginger Nuts of Horror
Data provided by BiblioShare.
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What reviewers said
"An ambitious anthology centering queer monstrosity in all its forms. Each entry opens with a stunning black-and-white chapter illustration, whetting readers’ appetites for the tale to follow. Stories range from ethereal fairy-tale retellings to dystopian quests of teens seeking love and acceptance in dust-soaked, drowned-out Earths . . . a solid collection of speculative queer YA.”
"As varied, creative, heartfelt, and fun as the community of writers who conjured it, We Mostly Come Out at Night is the narrative bestiary you need."
—Elana K. Arnold, National Book Award finalist, Printz Award honoree, and author of Damsel, Red Hood, and What Girls Are Made Of
“These monster stories positively pulse with humanity. Not only are they gripping and suspenseful, but they have such depth, meaning, and stand as powerful testaments to the fierceness and fabulosity of the queer experience.”
—Dan Clay (aka, Carrie Dragshaw), author of Becoming A Queen
"The collection as a whole is compelling and rich with fascinating beasties that provide new twists on monster lore…worthwhile for its strong queer-affirming stance and thought-provoking depictions of monsters."
“I could not get enough of this book! Compulsively readable, We Mostly Come Out at Night reclaims the power of otherness from a queer perspective, introducing readers to monsters we not only understand, but maybe want to be (or already are). A gorgeous and stunning triumph.”—Nora Shalaway Carpenter, author of Fault Lines and co-contributing editor of Ab(solutely) Normal: Sixteen Stories that Smash Mental Health Stereotypes
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