gritLIT is thrilled to welcome R.F. Kuang to Theatre Aquarius in celebration of her new book, Katabasis.

Rebecca F. Kuang is the #1 New York Times and #1 Sunday Times bestselling author of the Poppy War trilogy, Babel: An Arcane History, and Yellowface. Her work has won the Nebula, Locus, Crawford, and British Book Awards. A Marshall Scholar, she has an MPhil in Chinese Studies from Cambridge and an MSc in Contemporary Chinese Studies from Oxford. She is now pursuing a PhD in East Asian Languages and Literatures at Yale, where she studies diaspora, contemporary Sinophone literature, and Asian American literature.

Upon purchase, guests will also have the opportunity to buy a signed deluxe limited-edition copy of Katabasis. Available only on the first printing this collector’s hardcover features stenciled edges, case effects, and illustrated endpapers. Books will be pre-signed by the author.

A custom Canadian tour stamp will also be available on-site so attendees can add it to their books as a special keepsake of this exclusive event.

Additional copies of Katabasis, and other books by R.F. Kuang will be available for purchase at the event thanks to our bookstore partner Epic Books.

About Katabasis

DANTE’S INFERNO MEETS SUSANNA CLARKE’S PIRANESI in this DARK ACADEMIA FANTASY from R. F. KUANG, in which two graduate students must put aside their rivalry and journey to Hell to save their professor’s soul—perhaps at the cost of their own.  

Katabasis, noun, Ancient Greek: The story of a hero’s descent to the underworld

“Rich with allusion and illusion, Kuang crafts a witty, gory, harrowing ride that thoroughly roasts the perils and power structures of academia, while never losing sight of what it means to have a fragile, human heart.”  — #1 New York Times bestselling author, Leigh Bardugo

“A spellbinding and poignant story that had me riveted to the pages, R.F. Kuang’s KATABASIS is more than a novel to savor. This book is an experience. I envy those who get to read it for the first time.” 
— Rebecca Ross, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Divine Rivals

This event is hosted at Theatre Aquarius (190 King William St)

There are just three chances to see New York Times bestselling authors Joe Hill and Linwood Barclay together this fall, and gritLIT is so excited to be a stop on the Tour De Fear!Join us at the Playhouse Cinema on November 10 at 7 PM (Doors at 6:30) for an evening to celebrate their new novels King Sorrow and Whistle. Epic Books will be on-site with a selection of books from both authors and they will both be available after the event for a book signing.

Individual Tickets: $18 (plus fees)
Ticket plus a copy of King Sorrow, the new book by Joe Hill (a value of $47+hst): $61 (plus fees)

About Joe Hill and King Sorrow

From #1 New York Times bestselling author Joe Hill, a chilling tale of modern-world dangers, dark academia, and the unexpected consequences of revenge as six friends dabble in the occult and are tragically, horrifyingly successful… calling forth an evil entity that demands regular human sacrifice.

“A brilliantly Faustian fable with a heart as huge as a dragon’s, and a stinging twist in its tail. I devoured it.” – Ruth Ware, New York Times bestselling author of The Woman in Suite 11

Arthur Oakes is a reader, a dreamer, and a student at Rackham College, Maine, renowned for its frosty winters, exceptional library, and beautiful buildings. But his idyll – and burgeoning romance with Gwen Underfoot – is shattered when a local drug dealer and her partner corner him into one of the worst crimes he can imagine: stealing rare books from the college library.

Trapped and desperate, Arthur turns to his closest friends for comfort and help. Together they dream up a wild, fantastical scheme to free Arthur from the cruel trap in which he finds himself. Wealthy, irrepressible Colin Wren suggests using the unnerving Crane journal (bound in the skin of its author) to summon a dragon to do their bidding. The others – brave, beautiful Alison Shiner; the battling twins Donna and Donovan McBride; and brainy, bold Gwen – don’t hesitate to join Colin in an effort to smash reality and bring a creature of the impossible into our world.

But there’s nothing simple about dealing with dragons, and their pact to save Arthur becomes a terrifying bargain in which the six must choose a new sacrifice for King Sorrow every year – or become his next meal.

About Linwood Barclay and Whistle

New York Times bestselling author Linwood Barclay enters new territory with a supernatural chiller in which a woman and her young son move to a small town looking for a fresh start, only to be haunted by disturbing events and strange visions when they find a mysterious train set in a storage shed.

Evil has a one track mind....

Annie Blunt has had an unimaginably terrible year. First, her husband was killed in a tragic hit-and-run accident, then one of the children’s books she’s built her writing and illustrating career on ignited a major scandal. Desperate for a fresh start, she moves with her son Charlie to a charming small town in upstate New York where they can begin to heal.

But Annie’s year is about to get worse.

Bored and lonely in their isolated new surroundings, Charlie is thrilled when he finds a forgotten train set in a locked shed on their property. Annie is glad to see Charlie happy, but there’s something unsettling about his new toy. Strange sounds wake Annie in the night – she could swear she hears a train, but there isn’t an active track for miles – and bizarre things begin happening in the neighborhood. Worse, Annie can’t seem to stop drawing a disturbing new character that has no place in a children’s book.

Grief can do strange things to the mind, but Annie is beginning to think she’s walked out of one nightmare straight into another, only this one is far more terrifying…