Sley House Presents

Author and podcaster Isabelle Spotts joins the show to talk about her debut novel Saint Delilah, available August 11 from Berkley publishing. She talks all about becoming an outspoken feminist, about how her book tackles issues of autonomy and violence against women, and much more.You can find Isabelle Spotts at her website, www.isabellespotts.com, and you can get the book at your local library or your favorite book retailer.

Award-winning author Meg Eden Kuyatt visits to talk about her middle grade horror novel, The Girl in the Walls, available now from Scholastic Press. She talks about neurodivergence in her art, about building emotional intelligence, her love for Fire Emblem, and more.You can find more about Meg Eden Kuyatt at www.megedenbooks.com, and you can get The Girl in the Walls and her other novels at your local library or your favorite book retailer.

Best-selling author Steven Banbury joins the show to talk about his series of Pumpkin Princess novels, available now from Little, Brown Books for Young Readers. He talks about writing middle grade fiction, about the importance of escapism to him in fiction, and about how we find and demonstrate love to one another.You can find more about Steven Banbury at www.stevenbanbury.com, and you can get The Pumpkin Princess and the Forever Night and The Pumpkin Princess and the Buried Castle today from your local library or favorite book retailer. (They are the best books in the world, this is not up for debate).

Author Jesse Aragon visits to talk about her debut novel, The Demon Star, available on July 28, 2026 from DAW Books. She talks about science fantasy as a genre, about the complex questions of faith and power she explores in the book, and more.You can find more about Jesse Aragon at her website, www.authorjessearagon.com, and you can get The Demon Star at your local library or your favorite book retailer.

Author Thomas Elrod visits to talk about his latest novel The Franchise. He talks about the book's thematic origins, about art and media in the age of content and commodification, and about the existential crisis of creating art in our current moment.You can find more about Thomas Elrod at thomas-elrod.com, and you can get The Franchise today from your local library or your favorite book retailer, available from Tor Books.

Author Joan Tierney visits to talk about her debut novel, Misery's Wife, available July 14, 2026 from Flatiron Books. She talks about the book's origins as a Portuguese folk tale, about bringing the folk tale to the 21st century, about finding family and the role of luck in our success and our happiness, and a whole lot more as pertains to the book and our own meaning-making.You can find more about Joan Tierney on Instagram @space.selkie, and you can get Misery's Wife at your local library or your favorite book retailer on July 14!

Award-winning and best-selling author Kiersten White visits the show to talk about Mister Magic, her 2023 novel that has recently been adapted as a graphic novel through Ten Speed Graphic with Scott Peterson. She talks about the magic of adaptation, but also about the book's way of dealing with nostalgia, toxicity in structures of belief, and coming to know oneself in adulthood. For more information about Kiersten White and her work, you can find her at www.kierstenwhite.com and you can get Mister Magic and its graphic novel at your local library or your favorite book retailer today!

Award-winning author Hildur Knútsdóttir visits the show to talk about her latest translated novella, Dead Weight, available in the U.S. through Tor Nightfire. She talks about hiding bodies, writing about contemporary issues in Icelandic (and world) culture, and about the need for stories of women doing what needs to be done as a form of cathartic justice.You can find more about Hildur Knútsdóttir by visiting her website, www.hildurknutsdottir.is, and you can get Dead Weight and her other novella, The Night Guest, from Tor Nightfire at your local library or your favorite book retailer.