Happy EXTRAORDINARY QUESTS release day!! Kieran, my favorite hapless hero, is your problem now đź’™
In all seriousness, writing PRACTICAL RULES and EXTRAORDINARY QUESTS has been a lifelong dream realized. I’ve never had a chance to revisit a world twice, and it proved to be a lot more rewarding than I initially considered. These characters have been kicking around in my head for five years now, and getting to expand their arcs in this book felt like watching them grow up. I am so incredibly thankful to everyone @delacortepress and @getunderlined for all their hard work making this book happen. I love it very dearly, and I think you will to.
#extraordinaryquestsforamateurwitches #practicalrulesforcursedwitches #kaylacottingham #cozyfantasy #romantasy #witchbooks #mmromancebooks #queerbookstagram #newrelease #yabookstagram
Submitted for the approval of The Midnight Society: Are You Afraid of the Dark?: The Tale of the Vanishing Circus is out today!
This book was my first time writing IP and it was such a honor to get to play in the AYAOTD? sandbox. Middle grade horror is so fun to write and I’m so glad @abramskids and @nickelodeon gave me the opportunity to try it out. If you’re a fan of creepy circuses, queer coming of age stories, and ghosts, I highly recommend it!
Official synopsis:
Thirteen-year-old Riley Beasley is focused on her future―especially her goal of leaving the small town of Lake Glory to attend an Ivy League school. It’s a lot of pressure, and her mom’s reminders to live in the moment only make her feel more misunderstood. Even Riley’s best friend, paranormal-obsessed Genna, just doesn’t get it.
On the night of the Blood Moon, Genna convinces Riley to sneak out and investigate some strange lights that beckon from the woods. There the two friends discover a mysterious circus and its teenage ringleader, Starr.
At first, both girls are drawn to the magic of the big top. But soon, they can’t shake the feeling that something isn’t quite right. Where did all these circus kids come from? Why aren’t there any adults around? Like anyone, Starr certainly has her secrets . . . but can she be trusted?
As the girls become more entrenched in Starr’s hypnotic world, their friendship faces the ultimate test. Will they be best friends forever? Or will the sinister truth tear them apart?
#areyouafraidofthedark #thetaleofthevanishingcircus #kaylacottingham #middlegradebooks #middlegradehorror #circus #horror
Updated pinned post with all of my books! Still reeling from the fact that there are five (five!!) of them.
Most recent: PRACTICAL RULES FOR CURSED WITCHES (YA cozy sapphic romantasy)
Up next: EXTRAORDINARY QUESTS FOR AMATEUR WITCHES (out September 23, 2025, YA cozy achillean romantasy)
On deck: ARE YOU AFRAID OF THE DARK?: THE TALE OF THE VANISHING CIRCUS (out November 25, 2025, MG sapphic horror)
This week we are celebrating the genre hoppers of @DarkSummerBookFest . Crime fiction’s awesome, but why not sci-fi as well? When you need a break from horror, how about some romantasy? What about some southern gothic and historical fiction back to back? We're excited to have @christophpaul_@robwhart@kcottcan@brandon_perras_sanchez@tvayyyy hanging out with us at Dark Summer Book Fest on Saturday, August 8th right here at the Framingham Public Library.
#FPLreads
#FraminghamPublicLibrary
#DarkSummer
#DarkSummerBookFest
#BookTalk
#DarkRomance
video description: The video shows portraits of the authors appearing at Dark Summer and some of the books they have written.
Whether it’s zombies at a music festival, cosmic dark academia, or cozy romantasy you’re looking for, Kayla Cottingham @kcottcan has you covered!
Join us for Dark Summer Book Fest at the Framingham Public Library @frampub on Saturday, August 8th.
“Kayla Cottingham (they/she) is a teen librarian and a New York Times bestselling author of sapphic horror and fantasy novels, including Practical Rules for Cursed Witches. Originally from Salt Lake City, Utah, Kayla lives in Boston, where they love to go hiking in the woods, play RPGs, and snuggle on the couch with their ridiculously large black cat, Squid.”
#darksummerbookfest #genrehopping #yahorror #yaromantasy #framinghampubliclibrary
It’s almost time for the Lit for Queer Liberation auction and I’m donating signed and personalized copies of PRACTICAL RULES FOR CURSED WITCHES and EXTRAORDINARY QUESTS FOR AMATEUR WITCHES! Auction runs March 1 - March 7. Follow @queerliberationnetwork for updates and details on how to bid on both my books and a bunch of other amazing donations!
Less than two weeks until my middle grade horror debut, THE TALE OF THE VANISHING CIRCUS, hits shelves on November 25th! Squid is enjoying reading his copy—have you pre-ordered yours?
(p.s. yes, the claw marks are the chair were from him. He works hard to make this house a home and we clearly don’t appreciate it)
Some thoughts on book bans from your local librarian and banned author. A lot of these points have already been mentioned this week, but as someone who has been on both the library and author side of things, I wanted to reiterate a few things and add some others. Overall, I’m absolute gutted to hear that a bunch of bigoted weirdos decided my work wasn’t fit for teens to read. That said, there’s a lot we can do to prevent further bans from happening. Happy #bannedbooksweek
There’s still time to pre-order EXTRAORDINARY QUESTS before it comes out ✨tomorrow✨!! This book was so much fun to write and I cannot wait to share it with y’all. If you’re looking for a cozy, kind, and very gay fantasy world to escape into for 400ish pages, I cannot recommend this one enough.
And also!! For my Boston folks, the launch event is tomorrow at Porter Square Books in Cambridge at 7pm, so please do come out and celebrate!
We are ~one week~ away from the release of EXTRAORDINARY QUESTS FOR AMATEUR WITCHES! Have you had a chance to preorder yet? If not, there's still time! Authors talk a lot about how important preorders are to our careers, so I won't harp on it too much, but definitely consider putting in an order with your local indie if you can (buy links available in my bio) !!
