White Whale staff are huge fans of New York Times and #1 Indie bestselling author Andrew Joseph White and his use of horror and thrill to depict the realities of trans people, autistic people, and the othered! We are ecstatic to host Andrew in store to discuss his newest publication, Compound Fracture! Andrew will be joined in conversation by White Whale bookseller and event host, Lyss Stainer!

A queer Appalachian thriller that pulls no punches—following a trans autistic teen who’s drawn into the generational struggle between the rural poor and those who exploit them.

Preorder now and receive the LIMITED FIRST EDITION featuring specially designed photo endpapers—only while supplies last!

On the night Miles Abernathy—sixteen-year-old socialist and proud West Virginian—comes out as trans to his parents, he sneaks off to a party, carrying evidence that may finally turn the tide of the blood feud plaguing Twist Creek: Photos that prove the county’s Sheriff Davies was responsible for the so-called “accident” that injured his dad, killed others, and crushed their grassroots efforts to unseat him.

The feud began a hundred years ago when Miles’s great-great-grandfather, Saint Abernathy, incited a miners’ rebellion that ended with a public execution at the hands of law enforcement. Now, Miles becomes the feud’s latest victim as the sheriff’s son and his friends sniff out the evidence, follow him through the woods, and beat him nearly to death.

In the hospital, the ghost of a soot-covered man hovers over Miles’s bedside while Sheriff Davies threatens Miles into silence. But when Miles accidentally kills one of the boys who hurt him, he learns of other folks in Twist Creek who want out from under the sheriff’s heel. To free their families from this cycle of cruelty, they’re willing to put everything on the line—is Miles?

A visceral, unabashedly political page-turner that won’t let you go until you’ve reached the end, Compound Fracture is not for the faint of heart, but it is for every reader who’s ready to fight for a better world. Hand this story to teens pushing for radical change.

LYSS STAINER (they/them) is an autistic & nonbinary bookseller, writer & poet. they received a BA in english writing with a concentration in poetry and gender, sexuality, and women’s studies from the university of pittsburgh. they primarily write poetry & queer horror and are interested in the intersections of these two genres. They have been published or are forthcoming in dyke diaries, in parentheses, and others. You can find them sharing all their big feelings about books and writing on instagram: @librarysoflyss

ANDREW JOSEPH WHITE is the New York Times and #1 Indie bestselling author of Hell Followed with Us, The Spirit Bares its Teeth, and Compound Fracture. A queer, trans writer from Virginia, he grew up falling in love with monsters and wishing he could be one too. He received his MFA in Creative Writing from George Mason University in 2022.

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This event will be in-person at White Whale Bookstore. Masks are required. If you are not able to make it to the store, we will also be livestreaming the event via Zoom: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZMpdO6opz8uEtCoaGL2FhKyx0QH2iNikSR7#/registration

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