H.E. Edgmon 🔮

in case you missed it—i’ve got more middle grades coming in ‘26 and ‘27!

as promised—a (new) newsletter! i got this together a bit later than i intended, but such is the way with publishing, and this time of year, and… life. i’m planning to send out my first blast in the coming weeks, so head on over to the link in my bio to subscribe!

despite being an author who found my footing in the trenches of book twitter, i’ve been spending less and less time on social media the last couple of years. it wasn’t a conscious choice, not really, just a byproduct of the life i live—my time is allocated elsewhere. this year, though, and especially these last few months, it shifted into something intentional. unplugging from the algorithm, getting away from the echo chamber, and surrounding myself with the real, living, breathing bodies of people in my community suddenly seemed like the most important thing i could do. in some ways, i’ve always been about community. i’m the friend getting the group chat to actually make plans, organizing birthdays and baby showers and found-family dinners. and the work i do here, telling these stories, reaching a hand into the mouth of something that wants to swallow me, all in the hopes of pulling others out of its belly, is an act of love for community. but going OUTSIDE? meeting strangers, face to face? offering my time and labor and skills to a local network of my neighbors? something i wanted to do, and was terrified to do. (i have, if you hadn’t guessed, ✨ anxiety.) i did it, though. am doing it. and here’s the real kicker—even amidst so much bad, i don’t think i’ve ever felt this good in my life. it’s not happiness, exactly. it’s not dopamine. it’s something clearer. because, while recognizing the enormous amount of privilege it takes to feel this way, there’s a certain kind of peace that comes from looking around and realizing i’m living exactly the life i always wanted. one that is true to myself and my values, that is queer and creative and communal and vibrant and right here. aaaannnyyyway. all that said, y’all, i don’t think my online presence is going to get more prolific. i suspect i’ll be here less and less, actually. and with that in mind, i’ll be revamping my newsletter soon, as a better way to keep up with my going ons. so keep an eye out for that! (and if you’re local, reach out about where i’m spending my time and how you can get involved. there’s lots going on right now.)

well, DEFANGED is out in the world today. and i meant to post about this earlier in the week, to encourage you to preorder one last time. but, sitting back and watching the state of the world around me, i kept putting it off. i wasn’t sure what to say. the timing of this release is so pointed that it feels scripted. see, DEFANGED is about vampires, yeah, but it’s actually about being autistic. and it is absurd to me to sit here today and release a book about the dangers of eugenics, a book that warns of a world where the government seeks to forcibly “cure” those who are different from them, when only yesterday i watched the figureheads of my own government gleefully advance their mission to do exactly that. lux’s story, one of a young boy running to the shadows to escape this so-called cure, finding community among renegades and outcasts, was not exactly intended to be a handbook. but here we are. yesterday’s news is not the only reason the timing of this release feels heavy. there’s an added layer of apprehension as a trans author, publishing a book about an underground society of lawless monsters, rebels whose greatest crime is their unwillingness to conform. all week, i’ve listened to speculation about the american regime’s plans for trans people, to label us all violent extremists. to continue stripping us, bit by bit, of our humanity, until there is no consequence for doing any harm they can to our community. if i’m vulnerable for a second, i can admit i’m afraid to publish this book. i’m afraid it will do well, pushed forward by its unfortunately timely nature, and its success will put a target on my back. and i’m afraid it won’t—that censorship in all its forms will keep this story out of the hands of those who need it, and make it harder for me to keep telling these stories or—if i really let myself spin—to find a financial foothold to escape this fascist hell if i need to. either way, there’s no turning back. DEFANGED is on shelves, and—like the anxious boy in this book who has to become the revolutionary he never wanted to be—i’m doing it scared. how about you? what are you doing scared today?

somehow, DEFANGED is out in the world in just 29 days. :’)

i spent the last few days in the woods, picking berries and waking up to birdsong and dipping myself in the river, all while working on my latest draft—a book that takes place in a bunch of pockets of this country, which balances (hopefully) the cruelty of the humans who run it while so, so lovingly dwelling on the beauty of the land itself. it’s a headspace i find myself in often, and moreso lately. let me clear, in case you’re new here—i am repulsed by the colonial, genocide-happy, capitalistic empire that is “the united states,” and i am entirely disillusioned with the idea that real change will come about by playing into the system itself. this country actively threatens the safety of myself and those i hold most dear—so much so that my family has previously taken steps to leave, a process that was halted by things outside our control. and yet, there’s a part of me that’s grateful to be here, anyway. there is a part of me that loves this place so much it aches, a love that it has taken me many years to wrap my head around because it felt so at odds with my politics. but how could i not love the beauty and language and stories of the land here? how could i not love the people here; our cultures and communities, our resilience and innovation and grit? from bayou to mountain, from city to holler, there really is something sacred about this place. and we gotta fight like hell to defend it. (now, i’m getting this book to y’all as quick as i can. in the meantime, you can check out my previous works, which include anti-fascist trans witches, reincarnated gods in the deep south, Appalachian apocalypses, and haunted cult road trips. or you can preorder my next book, DEFANGED, my anti-authoritarian love letter to autistic kids.)

WE CAN NEVER LEAVE has been out in the world for two weeks now! 🥲🖤 thank you so much to everyone, booksellers and authors and readers, who showed up across the pacific northwest to celebrate this gruesome, romantic story with me.

H.E. Edgmon's queer contemporary fantasy WE CAN NEVER LEAVE is out today! 🏡✨⁣ ⁣ "Edgmon dazzles in this supernatural mystery novel... A captivating fable of belonging and intergenerational trauma." —Publishers Weekly

one more day. 🔜 it feels unreal that WCNL is almost out in the world. my blood inevitably stains every story i put to paper, but this one left me with some bone and gristle in it, too. if you haven’t ordered yours yet, you can still preorder a signed copy from @ballastbookco riiiiiight now. 🖤

Join us as @HEEdgmon and @JaredPechacek discuss "We Can Never Leave" - Edgmon's new queer young adult contemporary fantasy about what it means to belong. Every day, all across the world, inhuman creatures are waking up with no memory of who they are or where they came from–and the Caravan exists to help them. The traveling community is made up of these very creatures and their families who’ve acclimated to this new existence by finding refuge in each other. That is, until the morning five teenage travelers wake to find their community has disappeared overnight. They’ll have to work together to figure out what happened the night of the disappearance, but each one of the forsaken five is white-knuckling their own secrets. And with each truth forced to light, it becomes clear this isn’t really about what happened to their people–it’s about what happened to them. 🔥 About Edgmon 🔥 H.E. Edgmon did not sleep for several years and is now the author of copious novels and short works for tweens, teens, and adults. Their kidlit line-up includes The Witch King duology, the Ouroboros duology, and The Flicker. School Library Journal has described their writing as “monstrously thrilling, deeply emotional.” Across genres, H.E. hopes to find readers in their darkest moments and help them set a fire. They live in the Pacific Northwest, surrounded by chosen family and giant dogs. 🧝 About Pechaček 🧝 Pechaček is an artist and writer based in Seattle, Washington. He is also a host of the Tolkien podcast By-The-Bywater. When he’s not doing any of that, he’s cooking, baking, or sewing something to wear to the opera.

PNW friends! come see me on tour to celebrate WE CAN NEVER LEAVE! less than four weeks until this book is out in the world. i’m so proud of this tender, grotesque project, and can’t wait to talk about it in person. :’)

Join us for the launch of @heedgmon 's new book 𝘞𝘦 𝘊𝘢𝘯 𝘕𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘓𝘦𝘢𝘷𝘦, a queer young adult contemporary fantasy for fans of 𝘚𝘸𝘦𝘦𝘵 𝘛𝘰𝘰𝘵𝘩 and 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘙𝘢𝘷𝘦𝘯 𝘉𝘰𝘺𝘴! June 10th | 5:30pm | Cups Espresso, Bremerton H.E. is the author of popular novels such as 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘞𝘪𝘵𝘤𝘩 𝘒𝘪𝘯𝘨 and 𝘎𝘰𝘥𝘭𝘺 𝘏𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘯𝘴.