CJ LEEDE is a horror writer, hiker, and Trekkie. She is the author of Maeve Fly and American Rapture. Her debut novel Maeve Fly won the Golden Poppy Octavia E. Butler Award and Splatterpunk Award, and earned a Bram Stoker Award nomination. When she is not driving around the country, CJ can be found in LA with her boyfriend and rescue dogs.

Praise for Headlights:

"CJ Leede's Headlights is instantly seminal. A dazzling juggling of horror without camp; wit without loss of dread; pace without hurry; and most of all, the worldview and empathy of the author. You're gonna have a hard time finding a more thrilling or moving book this year."
--Josh Malerman, New York Times bestselling author of Incidents Around the House

"Fascinating villains and a rich mythos... Blending frights, folklore, and an exploration of the lifelong effects of trauma, this will be good fun for horror fans."
--Publishers Weekly

Praise for American Rapture:

Named one of the Best Horror Books of 2024 (Esquire, Vulture, Paste, ScreenRant, and Literary Hub) - A GoodReads and Publishers Weekly Editors' Pick - An Indie Next Pick - A Splatterpunk Award Finalist!

"Blood-soaked, heart-wrenching, grim and glorious. CJ Leede is a singular talent."
--Rachel Harrison, New York Times bestselling author of Play Nice

"Bold, fiercely sharp, and deeply unsettling."
--Chuck Tingle, USA Today bestselling author of Lucky Day

"Plenty of page-turning suspense ... hard to put down."
--Publishers Weekly, STARRED review

"A blistering, feverish ride through a uniquely American apocalypse."
--Chuck Wendig, New York Times bestselling author of The Staircase in the Woods

"Leede blends heart and horror, taking readers on an utterly bonkers and horrific ride. Buckle up."
--Jimmy Juliano, author of Dead Eleven

Praise for Maeve Fly:

Winner of the Golden Poppy Octavia E. Butler Award - Winner of the Splatterpunk Award for Best Novel - A Bram Stoker Award Finalist - One of Esquire's Best Horror Books of the Year - An Indie Next Pick!

"Gory and brutal and beautiful and painful and terrifying and a pure delight."
--Stephen Graham Jones, New York Times bestselling author of The Buffalo Hunter Hunter

"An apocalyptic Anaheim Psycho... oozes enough anguish, alienation, and angst to drown the world."
--Grady Hendrix, New York Times bestselling author of Witchcraft for Wayward Girls

"A firecracker of a book that explodes in your hand before you realize you've lit it."
--May Cobb, author of The Hunting Wives

"Sensual, brutal, sly, joyfully unnerving....It scared the hell out of me."
--Keith Rosson, author of Coffin Moon

"An adrenaline rush of a novel."
--Shelf Awareness, STARRED review

Publisher: Tor Nightfire

Pub date: 2026-06-09

Length: 400 pages