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Kerry Michele Cullen

@kermichele

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mouse detective & book scout. debut novel HOUSE OF BETH out now from @simonbooks 🖤👻

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good morning! after years of writing, editing, anxiety attacks & instagram posts, House of Beth is finally out in the world. i’m so grateful to the many thoughtful, hardworking people who have helped this book transform from a series of disjointed emails to myself to a word doc to a book. especially @svbowlin, the agent of my dreams, @oliviataylorsmith, the kindest and most casually insightful editor i know, @brittanyadames, @martha.love, @bookpubgal, and the rest of the tireless @simonbooks team who have spent so much time crafting pitches and and putting the book in so many hands.

special thanks also to @amosposner, @labourday1337, @cory_chester, @amyfeltmanwrites, @lynnstegerstrong, and @sanaelemoine, all of whom read early & multiple drafts and who helped shape this story into itself.

i have many, many more people to thank, but you’re just going to have to buy the book and read the acknowledgments to find out about them. available at your local independent bookstore or wherever books are sold! ✨🖤👻 by @kermichele

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a year ago

one year, so far. i am immeasurably grateful. by @kermichele

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3 years ago

Last night, I had the joy of being honored at One Story’s annual Debutante Ball, wherein the magazine celebrates the writers who have published a story in the magazine before and are publishing their first book that year, along with their mentors. (Shoutout to Sarah, my best mentor in every iteration.)
I started interning for One Story Magazine in 2012. After my interview with Maribeth and Adina, I remember thinking about how warm and creative that office felt, and how I wanted to spend more time there.
In training, Adina told me she liked signing customer service emails with “Sincerely—because we are sincere!” I can still hear that particular lilt in her voice. I didn’t set out to make this post in memory of Adina, but it’s hard not to, because I remember her all the time. Especially around One Story, and especially at the deb ball, where she always glittered in a truly phenomenal outfit.
I interned and assisted at One Story, and after that, my first print short story was published by One Teen Story and edited (beautifully) by Patrick. These days, I read submissions for the magazine, and I still feel lucky whenever I get to spend time in that office with the One Story staff.
Patrick, Maribeth, Hannah and Lena put their whole souls into the Debutante Ball each year, crafting giant paper flowers and sending countless emails and so much more. Throughout the rest of the year they edit stories, run classes, and fundraise—along with working on their own writing and doing all the free labor that falls under the umbrella of literary citizenship, as Min Jin Lee spoke about so eloquently as last night’s Distinguished Alum. All of this work is done to create a tangible product and to foster a living community with strong values, one that nurtures emerging writers.
As an emerging writer, I’ve been dreaming about being a One Story debutante for over ten years now. When I wrote the first sentence of my novel, I thought about how it would sound read out loud from the Roulette stage. I’m so proud and grateful to be part of the One Story community. Thank you to everyone who made last night possible, and so much fun. taken in Roulette by @kermichele

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a year ago

Gothic is forever but fall is the perfect time to indulge your itch for spooky, dark, and haunting tales (with a dash of humor).

Next Wednesday, 9/16 at 7pm, join me, Mary Berman, and @kermichele at @lostcitybooks for a Gothic Party!

🥀 chat gothic and horror genres
🖤 play Gothic bingo (with prizes!)
🥀 tarot readings by the incredible @gemseniah
🖤 festive fall drinks

Get in the mood by swiping for gorgeous old school gothic novel covers. Even Batman does gothic.

See you there!

💀🖤 taken in Washington D. C. by @kermichele

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a month ago

“The ghost story I’ve been waiting for - steamy and audacious, terrifically paced.” - Sanaé Lemoine

Next week, we’re welcoming author Kerry Cullen to the shop to celebrate the paperback release of HOUSE OF BETH, the literary, gothic, queer novel perfect for fans of Mona Awad’s Bunny or Rachel Yoder’s Nightbitch!

Joining Kerry in conversation will be author Sara van Os, author of this year’s DECOMPOSITION BOOK!

📍 Wednesday 7/22 at 7 PM
🎟️ Free RSVP at the link in bio taken in The Twisted Spine by @kermichele

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3 months ago

i 💜 my colager who turned 35 (and all my other colagers too)✨ taken in Provincetown, Massachusetts by @kermichele

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4 months ago

Can’t wait for FEB OPEN BOOK! THURS 2/19 at @crystal_lake_brooklyn ft. Published author @kermichele
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🍇 📖 🎤
Hosted by @becka.dots
Happy Hour 4-7pm
Signup 7-7:45pm
Readings 8pm-late

See you there!
.
Author photo by @sylviethecamera taken in Crystal Lake Brooklyn by @kermichele

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8 months ago

Join us on Saturday October 11th at 6pm and dive into spooky season with Kerry Cullen @kermichele and Daria Lavelle @daria.lavelle.author who will both read from their haunting debut novels, Aftertaste and House of Beth, and share insights about craft, process, and developing their unconventional ghost stories. Afterward, there will be an audience Q&A and an opportunity to have books signed and personalized.

#spookyseason taken in Howling Basset Books by @kermichele

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a year ago

And that’s a wrap on the Brooklyn Book Festival! Thanks to everyone who came out to hear The New Kids on the Block: 2025 debut authors talking publishing, process, and building community. This panel was an example of the best thing about this debut year: meeting authors and readers and learning so much from each other. I have no picture taking skills, but trust that the garden was packed and the smiles were big.

Huge thanks to fellow panelists and brilliant authors @kermichele, @daria.lavelle.author, @stuartpennebaker, @victorsuth, and the best moderator @dangitcat!! And to @heartofgoldastoria for the perfect venue and @astoriabookshop for providing the books. 🍻 📚

Let’s do it again soon!! taken in Astoria, Queens, New York by @kermichele

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a year ago

JOIN US ON MONDAY, SEPT 22nd, for THE NEW KIDS: 2025 Debut Authors Talk Process, Publishing, & Community, at Heart of Gold (@heartofgoldastoria), as part of the @bkbookfest Bookends Events! It’s going to be an amazing night of conversation, tea-spilling, and bookish community moderated by the brilliant @dangitcat, and featuring debut stars @katebroadbooks @kermichele @daria.lavelle.author @stuartpennebaker and @victorsuth. Come for a drink, for a fun night out with your new favorite authors, and for the inside scoop on what it’s like to publish a novel, and stay for book signings, giveaways, and a night you won’t forget! As if that weren’t enough, @astoriabookshop will be on site selling copies of these stellar debuts, so you can get your fall TBR stocked up with personalized copies! 📚

#brooklynbookfestival #bookfestival #nycbooks #nycevents #authorevents #astoria #debutnovels #authorcommunity #booksta #authorevent #bkbookfest #bookends JOIN US ON MONDAY, SEPT 22nd, for THE NEW KIDS: 2025 Debut Authors Talk Process, Publishing, & Community, at Heart of Gold (@heartofgoldastoria), as part of the @bkbookfest Bookends Events! It’s going to be an amazing night of conversation, tea-spilling, and bookish community moderated by the brilliant @dangitcat, and featuring debut stars @katebroadbooks @kermichele @daria.lavelle.author @stuartpennebaker and @victorsuth. Come for a drink, for a fun night out with your new favorite authors, and for the inside scoop on what it’s like to publish a novel, and stay for book signings, giveaways, and a night you won’t forget! As if that weren’t enough, @astoriabookshop will be on site selling copies of these stellar debuts, so you can get your fall TBR stocked up with personalized copies! 📚

#brooklynbookfestival #bookfestival #nycbooks #nycevents #authorevents #astoria #debutnovels #authorcommunity #booksta #authorevent #bkbookfest #bookends taken in Heart of Gold, NYC by @kermichele

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i was sixteen when my dad showed me the new york times book review section, saying that it might be a good way for me to find out about new books. since then, i’ve imagined one day seeing a book of mine in its pages. 20 years later, here we are. thank you so much @nytbooks, and @safflower_lady for writing such a gorgeous review—and to everyone who’s read and supported house of beth. i’m so excited for more people to learn about the book through this review. (and through dads who share their newspapers.) by @kermichele

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a year ago

Please join us at Lambs on Tuesday, August 19th, where local author Hannah Matthews will be hosting a conversation and reading with writers Kerry Cullen and Christine Vines.

Doors and bar at 5pm
Reading and conversation 6-7pm
Signing and bar hangs 7-9pm

Christine Vines is a fiction writer from Wichita, KS. Her work has appeared in One Story, BOMB, Witness, The Rumpus, McSweeney’s Internet Tendency, Electric Literature, The Chicago Tribune, Book of the Month’s Volume 0, and elsewhere.

Kerry Cullen’s fiction has been published in The Indiana Review, Prairie Schooner, One Teen Story, and more. She earned her MFA at Columbia University, and she lives in New York. HOUSE OF BETH is her debut novel.

A haunting and seductive tale of a young career woman who slides quickly into the role of stepmother, in a life that may still belong to someone else. “Vivid, addictive, and crackling with life (yes, even the ghost), House of Beth asks us to consider how and why we make the lives we make” (Lynn Steger Strong).

After a heart-wrenching breakup with her girlfriend and a shocking incident at her job, Cassie flees her life as an overworked assistant in New York for her hometown in New Jersey, along the Delaware. There, she reconnects with her high school best friend, Eli, now a widowed father of two. Their bond reignites, and within a few short months, Cassie is married to Eli, living in his house in the woods, homeschooling the kids, and getting to know her reserved neighbor, Joan.

But Cassie’s fresh start is less idyllic than she’d hoped. She grapples with harm OCD, her mind haunted by gory, graphic images. And she’s afraid that she’ll never measure up to Eli’s late spouse, who was a committed homemaker and traditional wife. No matter what Cassie does, Beth’s shadow still permeates every corner of their home.

Soon, Cassie starts hearing a voice narrating the house’s secrets. As she listens, the voice grows stronger, guiding Cassie down a path to uncover the truth about Beth’s untimely death. taken in Lambs Maine by @kermichele

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