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Kelsea Yu

@anovelescape

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PNW Shirley Jackson Award-nominated author of:
🍃 BOUND FEET 🎮 IT’S ONLY A GAME 🎭 DEMON SONG 🌊 STORMRAVEN (Gallery/Titan, March 2027!)
Rep: @abw.books

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It’s the first day of #AANHPIheritagemonth month, and I thought I’d take the chance to re-introduce myself here! 🫶

Hi! 👋 I’m Kelsea, an award-winning Taiwanese Chinese American author of books / stories about haunted people and places with a sprinkling of Chinese folklore!

A few fun facts:
🌲I live in Portland, Oregon! I’ve also lived in San Francisco, CA, Gaithersburg, MD, and Seattle, WA
💖 I have two daughters, age 7 & 4, and a 14yo stepson
📚 I grew up devouring SFF, but now I read hundreds of books a year across a range of genres and write mostly horror
💐 I love crafting! In more recent years, that’s mostly been making flower crowns and bujo spreads
🩶 I have two metal rods in my back (too far in to set off metal detectors!)
📷 I was a bookstagrammer for years and miss it
🍜 I loooove noodles

Aaand I have several books out and another one publishing in March 2027!

🍃 BOUND FEET is a horror novella about two best friends who break into a Chinese garden overnight to perform a Ghost Day ritual honoring their dead children…and accidentally summon something ancient.

🎮 IT’S ONLY A GAME is a YA thriller about a teen runaway who finds a man dead in a video game the day before he dies IRL…and someone wants it to look like she killed him.

🎭 DEMON SONG is a horror novella that’s Phantom of the Opera x The Haunting of Hill House w/ Monkey King mythology about a girl and her mom who take refuge in an old Beijing opera house where something monstrous lives within.

🦊 YE XIAN AND THE CELESTIAL FEAST (🎧📖) is a folklore retelling of Chinese Cinderella featuring a starving fox spirit girl who discovers an impossible feast in a cabin in the forest…leading her on a wild, romantic adventure.

👻 STORMRAVEN (out March 2027!) is Rebecca x Get Out w/ twists rooted in suppressed Chinese American history, where an ambitious artist marries a generationally wealthy white man and moves into his mansion on a private PNW island…but soon discovers she’s not the first woman to find herself trapped in its hallowed halls.

❓Tell me something about yourself! Do we have anything in common? 👀

#aapiheritagemonth #aapi #aanhpi #authorcommunity by @anovelescape

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6 months ago

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a year ago

Aaaand one for the grid! ICYMI, my Chinese American modern gothic horror novel was announced yesterday. Thank you for the love on my reel 😭 you all truly are the best! 🥰🫶

STORMRAVEN will be out next spring with @gallerybooks / @simonandschuster (US) & @titanbooks (UK)!!! 🥳🎨📷🌊🌲👻👁️

✨From the PM Announcement:✨
Shirley Jackson Award-nominated author Kelsea Yu’s STORMRAVEN, pitched as a Rebecca-inspired gothic horror rooted in Chinese American history, in which an ambitious artist uncovers the chilling secrets of a haunted mansion on a private Pacific Northwest island with a whitewashed past—secrets that threaten to turn her dream life into a nightmare, to Ed Schlesinger at Gallery, at auction, for publication in 2026, by Jennifer Azantian at Azantian Literary Agency (NA). Rights also to Daniel Carpenter at Titan Books (UK).

#ghostbooks #ghoststories #ghoststory #kelseayu #stormraven #gallerybooks #titanbooks @azantianliteraryagency #bookdeal #bookannouncements #bookannouncement #newbook #newbooks #chineseamerican #gothic Graphic of a book deal announcement in front of a background showing a red and black photo of a gothic interior staircase. Announcement reads: Shirley Jackson Award-nominated author Kelsea Yu’s STORMRAVEN, pitched as a Rebecca-inspired gothic horror rooted in Chinese American history, in which an ambitious artist uncovers the chilling secrets of a haunted mansion on a private Pacific Northwest island with a whitewashed past—secrets that threaten to turn her dream life into a nightmare, to Ed Schlesinger at Gallery, at auction, for publication in 2026, by Jennifer Azantian at Azantian Literary Agency (NA). Rights also to Daniel Carpenter at Titan Books (UK). by @anovelescape

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a year ago

Stormraven is in People Magazine!! 👻🩸👁️

Thank you @rffaubion & @people for including STORMRAVEN in this very cool article pairing horror films and books. 😍😍 Head over to people.com to read the full piece!

And if you haven’t already, pick up a copy of Rebekah’s WHAT A NIGHTMARE, which came out this week!

#horrormovies #horrorfilm #booksandmovies #horrorbooks #horrorbookstagram Screenshot of an article in People Magazine entitled What’s Your Favorite Scary Movie? 8 Classic Horror Flicks Paired with Books (Exclusive) by Rebekah Faubion. Beneath the header is a collage showing three book covers: Stormraven by Kelsea Yu, What a Nightmare by Rebekah Faubion, and We’re All Going to Die Tonight by Veronica Bane. by @anovelescape

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16 hours ago

👻 International Giveaway!! 👻

Win TWO Asian American gothic horror ARCs!!

🌸GOOD CREATURE: NINTH HOUSE x HOTEL DEL LUNA where a college freshman accidentally girl bosses her way into marriage with a ghost, and unleashes something far darker onto her college campus…

🩸STORMRAVEN: Chinese American REBECCA x GET OUT where an ambitious artist marries a rich guy and moves into his private PNW island mansion, but soon finds herself haunted by a woman who looks eerily like her…

To enter:
🖤Follow @anovelescape & @jihyunyunwrites
🖤Like & comment
🖤Share this post to stories for 24H
🌟BONUS: Tag a bookish friend!

Open internationally! Must be 18+ or have parental permission to enter. Not affiliated w/ IG. Ends 10/19

Good luck! 🕯️🍀

#ghoststory #gothicbooks #gothichorror #hauntedplaces #spookyseason Graphic that says “Asian American Gothic Horror International ARC Giveaway” and features two books. Good Creature by Jihyun Yun has an arrow pointing to it that says “WTF is wrong with this dormitory??? Releasing March 30, 2027. Stormraven by Kelsea Yu has an arrow pointing to it that says “WTF is wrong with this mansion??? Releasing March 23, 2027.” The bottom says “how to enter” with an arrow to swipe. by @anovelescape

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5 days ago

Get yourself a publisher who sends you 100 ARCs 💅🫶😘

THREE of these are going to the winners of the giveaway hosted by @coffeeandcuentos—so check out her page if you haven’t already! You should be following Ash anyway ‘cause she’s awesome and shares great recs! When I was first getting into horror (almost 6yo ago now 😱) she recommended some fantastic books that helped solidify my love for the genre. 👻🩸🕯️

And stay tuned for more 👀👀 I’ve got lots of plans for these!!

#horrorreads #horrorbookstagram #horrorbooks #horrorbook #gothichorror @gallerybooks Photograph of a Chinese American woman with red hair with three stacks of the novel Stormraven by Kelsea Yu. She is leaning forward with a look of shocked delight. by @anovelescape

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12 days ago

She’s always watching 👁️ 👁️

❓How was your weekend?

Mine was busy but great!! Went to 16 WA bookstores to say hi and drop off ARCs + saw some friends and fam! Today I’m catching up on some admin and household stuff.

P.S. @coffeeandcuentos is giving away THREE ARCs of Stormraven on her page so head over there to enter!! 🥳🥳

#fancynails #booknails #manicure #horrornails #spookyseason Photograph of the book Stormraven by Kelsea Yu with nails inspired by the cover. Background is a table of wax sealed invitations. by @anovelescape

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13 days ago

Had an amazing time at PNBA! This was my second time at the @pacificnwbooksellers fall tradeshow and it was absolutely incredible. Had a blast hanging out with author friends, meeting the S&S sales reps, and chatting with booksellers!

Huge thanks to @gallerybooks for sending me (+80 ARCs of Stormraven!) to the show, to PNBA for giving me the chance to share a bit about Stormraven at the Books Around the Bend lunch, to @gayowyn for being my show buddy, and to all the booksellers & librarians for your enthusiasm. Till next time! 🫶

(Some photos taken by or yoinked from @gayowyn @elaineucho & @juliebuxbaum—thank you! 🖤)

#booksbooksbooks #pnw #pnwisbest #booksellers #authorlife by @anovelescape

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18 days ago

I don’t think you understand the journey this book took me on. I was horrified and mesmerized and I thought I knew what was happening but there were twists that went in ways I was not expecting. I also appreciated that @anovelescape included a bit about a dark part of Oregon history that I feel many might not be aware of. The way this was woven into the story was masterful. Loved the book and need yall to read it too!

I read this via earc and the book releases next March. Thank you for the earc @gallerybooks

Photo added in via overlay.

#stormraven #gothichorror #fivestarbooks by @anovelescape

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20 days ago

STORMRAVEN, manicure edition, thanks to the incredibly talented @tillydidthat! If you don’t hear from me this week I’m probably staring at my nails 💅

P.S. If you’re at PNBA today or tomorrow you can see them in person! 🗝️🩸👁️🥀🖤

#bookart #booknails #bookishlife #horrornails #horrorbook by @anovelescape

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20 days ago

𖤓𖥔 ᕼOᖇᖇOᖇ ᑎOᐯEᒪᒪᗩ ᖇEᐯIEᗯ 𖥔𖤓

Bound Feet by @anovelescape broke my heart in the quietest, most haunting way. As a mother, I felt deeply connected to the grief, love, and desperate longing woven through this story. It beautifully captures how a mother’s love can reach into the darkest places—and how grief can make us hold on long after we should let go. Haunting, emotional, and unforgettable. 🖤

The story follows a grieving mother, Jodi, who is still struggling to come to terms with the loss of her toddler after a tragic accident for which she blames herself. When an opportunity arises to enter a mysterious Chinese garden and ghost museum with her new best friend during the Hungry Ghost Festival, Jodi finds herself drawn into something far more supernatural—and dangerous—than she ever expected. Blending Chinese folklore, ghosts, history, and deeply personal grief, this is a short but powerful tale that I will certainly not be forgetting anytime soon.

Beautifully written - this was a 5✨ novella for me.

QOTD - Have you ever read a horror novel that moved you in ways you didn’t expect?!

#horrorreads #horrornovella #bookreview #booksta #bookaesthetic taken in BOOKSTA by @anovelescape

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24 days ago

This past weekend, a friend and I were chatting about ballerina horror and I recommended this one…so I thought I’d share with the class for my next #anovelescaperecommends pick! THE FINALIST by @byfaithgladwin is a fantastic, layered tale of vicious ballerinas who will do anything to make it to the top. It’s dark, it’s sapphic, it has disability/chronic pain rep, and it deals with power imbalances in a way that’s both horrific and so very real. Out in just a few weeks…definitely pick this one up!!

#bodyhorror #horrorbookstagram #horrorbooks #bookrec Aesthetic board for The Finalist by Faith Gladwin with images of ballerinas and a shattered mirror by @anovelescape

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25 days ago