Book Launch: "You Weren't Meant to Be Human" by Andrew Joseph White

Acclaimed author Andrew Joseph White makes his adult debut with You Weren't Meant to Be Human

Join the Bards Alley booksellers at Chantilly Regional Library as we celebrate the release of You Weren't Meant to Be Human by local author Andrew Joseph White! He will be in conversation with indie bookseller and fellow local author Alice Scott.

Known for his bestselling YA thrillers, such as Hell Followed with Us, White makes his adult debut with this horror novel, which follows a transgender man's fight for survival in an alien-infested West Virginia. In a starred review, Publishers Weekly describes it as "a brilliant, page-turning piece of trans splatterpunk body horror."

A book signing will follow, with copies of You Weren't Meant to Be Human, White's backlist, and Reverent: An Anthology of Divinity edited by Quinton Li (which includes a short story by Scott) available for purchase. Bards Alley is also taking preorders of You Weren't Meant to Be Human for in-person pick-up or shipping until September 1; see our website for more information.

Free registration is required through Fairfax County Public Library here: https://librarycalendar.fairfaxcounty.gov/event/15017745

ABOUT THE BOOK

Festering masses of worms and flies have taken root in dark corners across Appalachia. In exchange for unwavering loyalty and fresh corpses, these hives offer a few struggling humans salvation. A fresh start. It’s an offer that none refuse.

Crane is grateful. Among his hive’s followers, Crane has found a chance to transition, to never speak again, to live a life that won’t destroy him. He even met Levi: a handsome ex-Marine and brutal killer who treats him like a real man, mostly. But when Levi gets Crane pregnant—and the hive demands the child’s birth, no matter the cost—Crane’s desperation to make it stop will drive the community that saved him into a devastating spiral that can only end in blood.

You Weren’t Meant to Be Human is a deeply personal horror; a visceral statement about the lives of marginalized people in a hostile world, echoing the works of Stephen Graham Jones and Eric LaRocca.

ABOUT THE AUTHORS

Andrew Joseph White is the trans, autistic, and bestselling author of Hell Followed With Us, The Spirit Bares Its Teeth, and Compound Fracture. Born and raised in the Shenandoah Valley, he received his MFA in creative writing from George Mason University and lives in Virginia with his wife and their antisocial cat. Learn more at AndrewJosephWhite.com.

Alice Scott (she/they) is an author who may or may not be a ferret turned into a person by a kiss from a prince. She has a degree in creative writing from George Mason University and is currently working as an independent bookseller with a specialty in recommending queer and underappreciated books. They are the author of several short stories and two chapbooks: The Practical Man's Guide to Cheating Death and collection You Are Not Your Bones and Lesser Misfortunes.