Julia O’Connell
@juliajoyce.bsky.social
Publicity Director at Penzler Publishers; Freelance editor; Book blogger at The Gothic Library. She/her ✡️📚
Check out the books I worked on this year!
There’s all of the books we published this year at our in-house mystery press, Penzler Publishers
December 30, 2025 at 7:13 PM
Check out the books I worked on this year!
New blog post!
Check out my recap of my reading for 2025.
It’s been a weird year, but there were some great reads along the way…
www.thegothiclibrary.com/my-2025-read...
Check out my recap of my reading for 2025.
It’s been a weird year, but there were some great reads along the way…
www.thegothiclibrary.com/my-2025-read...
My 2025 Reading Recap - The Gothic Library
It’s been a weird year, both in my reading life and in the world beyond. I felt pulled in too many directions at once, and wound up feeling less productive than usual—both in terms of how many books I...
www.thegothiclibrary.com
December 29, 2025 at 3:51 PM
New blog post!
Check out my recap of my reading for 2025.
It’s been a weird year, but there were some great reads along the way…
www.thegothiclibrary.com/my-2025-read...
Check out my recap of my reading for 2025.
It’s been a weird year, but there were some great reads along the way…
www.thegothiclibrary.com/my-2025-read...
Reposted by Julia O’Connell
Romancing the Gothic organises free talks every Saturday all through the year!
Our talks are open to all, happen at two different times (usually) so people can join us from different time zones, and are free (though donations welcome to support the programme)
This year's programme below!
Our talks are open to all, happen at two different times (usually) so people can join us from different time zones, and are free (though donations welcome to support the programme)
This year's programme below!
December 15, 2025 at 6:16 PM
Romancing the Gothic organises free talks every Saturday all through the year!
Our talks are open to all, happen at two different times (usually) so people can join us from different time zones, and are free (though donations welcome to support the programme)
This year's programme below!
Our talks are open to all, happen at two different times (usually) so people can join us from different time zones, and are free (though donations welcome to support the programme)
This year's programme below!
New blog post! Check out my review of @sarahgailey.bsky.social’s strange and sexy take on John Carpenter’s The Thing—SPREAD ME:
www.thegothiclibrary.com/review-of-sp...
💙📚 😱📚
www.thegothiclibrary.com/review-of-sp...
💙📚 😱📚
Review of Spread Me—Erotic Horror - The Gothic Library
They say that fear and arousal are remarkably similar sensations. Sarah Gailey, the multi-talented author of alt-history adventure books like River of Teeth and more traditional horror such as Just Li...
www.thegothiclibrary.com
December 15, 2025 at 3:41 PM
New blog post! Check out my review of @sarahgailey.bsky.social’s strange and sexy take on John Carpenter’s The Thing—SPREAD ME:
www.thegothiclibrary.com/review-of-sp...
💙📚 😱📚
www.thegothiclibrary.com/review-of-sp...
💙📚 😱📚
Happy Chanukah!
December 14, 2025 at 11:04 PM
Happy Chanukah!
Okay, the AI-generated book club scam emails are getting ridiculous. Just got forwarded one from one of my authors that is literally a page long, with effusive flowery language.
December 4, 2025 at 6:03 PM
Okay, the AI-generated book club scam emails are getting ridiculous. Just got forwarded one from one of my authors that is literally a page long, with effusive flowery language.
I’m hiring a new intern to support me and the rest of the publishing team at Penzler Publishers!
Are you a recent college grad who loves mysteries & thrillers?
We're hiring for a winter/spring intern to support our publishing team, starting in January! This position is part-time, paid, and in-person at our NYC offices.
Click the link for details:
www.mysteriousbookshop.com/pages/job-op...
We're hiring for a winter/spring intern to support our publishing team, starting in January! This position is part-time, paid, and in-person at our NYC offices.
Click the link for details:
www.mysteriousbookshop.com/pages/job-op...
Job Opportunities | The Mysterious Bookshop
Publishing Intern (12/1/2025)Penzler Publishers is an independent press specializing in mysteries, thrillers, suspense, and true crime, located within t...
www.mysteriousbookshop.com
December 1, 2025 at 6:10 PM
I’m hiring a new intern to support me and the rest of the publishing team at Penzler Publishers!
New blog post!
If you love demons and dysfunctional families, check out my review of PLAY NICE by @rachelharrison.bsky.social:
www.thegothiclibrary.com/review-of-pl...
💙📚 😱📚
If you love demons and dysfunctional families, check out my review of PLAY NICE by @rachelharrison.bsky.social:
www.thegothiclibrary.com/review-of-pl...
💙📚 😱📚
Review of Play Nice—Demons and Dysfunctional Families - The Gothic Library
Every family has their demons. But for the Barnes family, theirs are a little more literal… Rachel Harrison, best known for her monster stories Such Sharp Teeth and So Thirsty, tackles the haunted hou...
www.thegothiclibrary.com
December 1, 2025 at 3:45 PM
New blog post!
If you love demons and dysfunctional families, check out my review of PLAY NICE by @rachelharrison.bsky.social:
www.thegothiclibrary.com/review-of-pl...
💙📚 😱📚
If you love demons and dysfunctional families, check out my review of PLAY NICE by @rachelharrison.bsky.social:
www.thegothiclibrary.com/review-of-pl...
💙📚 😱📚
Crisis averted: I was able to find a copy of Play Nice at The Twisted Spine and check the quote I needed. Hooray for indie bookstores!
Keep an eye out for my review tomorrow morning!
Keep an eye out for my review tomorrow morning!
Does anyone have a physical or ebook copy of Rachel Harrison’s latest novel, Play Nice?
I read the audiobook, but need to check the exact wording of a quote and have no idea how to go about finding it in the audiobook…
If you’ve got a copy and are willing to look up the quote for me, let me know!
I read the audiobook, but need to check the exact wording of a quote and have no idea how to go about finding it in the audiobook…
If you’ve got a copy and are willing to look up the quote for me, let me know!
December 1, 2025 at 3:46 AM
Crisis averted: I was able to find a copy of Play Nice at The Twisted Spine and check the quote I needed. Hooray for indie bookstores!
Keep an eye out for my review tomorrow morning!
Keep an eye out for my review tomorrow morning!
Reposted by Julia O’Connell
Hi! We're a small business & we'd love to get a sale today.
1st time since we set up in 2015 that we've had no traffic on #SmallBusinessSaturday
It's so hard, we know everyone is spread thin. Us too.
But if you like vintage / gothy stuff, everything below is still available, thanks for your time:
1st time since we set up in 2015 that we've had no traffic on #SmallBusinessSaturday
It's so hard, we know everyone is spread thin. Us too.
But if you like vintage / gothy stuff, everything below is still available, thanks for your time:
Adding to this thread of nifty things that additional brand-new Gothy / Batty / Catty / Vintage goodies are now available via Torch & Arrow, all one of a kind & part of Etsy's big cyber sale! Your support is *such* a help in a difficult year. 🖤
torchandarrow.etsy.com
#BlueSkyNightMarket
torchandarrow.etsy.com
#BlueSkyNightMarket
November 30, 2025 at 4:09 AM
Hi! We're a small business & we'd love to get a sale today.
1st time since we set up in 2015 that we've had no traffic on #SmallBusinessSaturday
It's so hard, we know everyone is spread thin. Us too.
But if you like vintage / gothy stuff, everything below is still available, thanks for your time:
1st time since we set up in 2015 that we've had no traffic on #SmallBusinessSaturday
It's so hard, we know everyone is spread thin. Us too.
But if you like vintage / gothy stuff, everything below is still available, thanks for your time:
Does anyone have a physical or ebook copy of Rachel Harrison’s latest novel, Play Nice?
I read the audiobook, but need to check the exact wording of a quote and have no idea how to go about finding it in the audiobook…
If you’ve got a copy and are willing to look up the quote for me, let me know!
I read the audiobook, but need to check the exact wording of a quote and have no idea how to go about finding it in the audiobook…
If you’ve got a copy and are willing to look up the quote for me, let me know!
November 27, 2025 at 12:08 AM
Does anyone have a physical or ebook copy of Rachel Harrison’s latest novel, Play Nice?
I read the audiobook, but need to check the exact wording of a quote and have no idea how to go about finding it in the audiobook…
If you’ve got a copy and are willing to look up the quote for me, let me know!
I read the audiobook, but need to check the exact wording of a quote and have no idea how to go about finding it in the audiobook…
If you’ve got a copy and are willing to look up the quote for me, let me know!
New blog post!
Check out my review of CINDER HOUSE, a spooky and sweet Cinderella retelling by @freyamarske.bsky.social:
www.thegothiclibrary.com/review-of-ci...
💙📚
Check out my review of CINDER HOUSE, a spooky and sweet Cinderella retelling by @freyamarske.bsky.social:
www.thegothiclibrary.com/review-of-ci...
💙📚
Review of Cinder House—A Haunting Fairy Tale - The Gothic Library
“A ghost was how a building held a grudge.” What if Cinderella was a ghost, murdered by her stepmother and only able to interact with the world outside the home she haunts for the three precious night...
www.thegothiclibrary.com
November 17, 2025 at 3:40 PM
New blog post!
Check out my review of CINDER HOUSE, a spooky and sweet Cinderella retelling by @freyamarske.bsky.social:
www.thegothiclibrary.com/review-of-ci...
💙📚
Check out my review of CINDER HOUSE, a spooky and sweet Cinderella retelling by @freyamarske.bsky.social:
www.thegothiclibrary.com/review-of-ci...
💙📚
Reposted by Julia O’Connell
Seen as it looks like I won't have a main job for a while (and seen as I haven't been paid anything since September) if you'd like to support the work that I do through Romancing the Gothic, you can!
You can also buy courses (in case you didn't know!)
ko-fi.com/samhirst
You can also buy courses (in case you didn't know!)
ko-fi.com/samhirst
Support Sam Hirst ❤️
Support Sam Hirst
ko-fi.com
November 7, 2025 at 2:09 PM
Seen as it looks like I won't have a main job for a while (and seen as I haven't been paid anything since September) if you'd like to support the work that I do through Romancing the Gothic, you can!
You can also buy courses (in case you didn't know!)
ko-fi.com/samhirst
You can also buy courses (in case you didn't know!)
ko-fi.com/samhirst
New blog post! Check out my reflections on this year’s #AScareADay reading challenge for October:
www.thegothiclibrary.com/ascareaday-2...
www.thegothiclibrary.com/ascareaday-2...
#AScareADay 2025 Reading Challenge Reflections - The Gothic Library
What better way to spend October than reading thirty-one scary short stories and poems? Every year, Dr. Sam Hirst of Romancing the Gothic puts together a magnificent reading list for spooky season of ...
www.thegothiclibrary.com
November 3, 2025 at 8:10 PM
New blog post! Check out my reflections on this year’s #AScareADay reading challenge for October:
www.thegothiclibrary.com/ascareaday-2...
www.thegothiclibrary.com/ascareaday-2...
Day 31, the final story of #AScareADay is “The Path She Sings” by Vanessa Fogg. A fitting last name for this story!
The narrator grieves his undead wife. The creature that moves around his house is no longer her, not really. Or is it?
1/
The narrator grieves his undead wife. The creature that moves around his house is no longer her, not really. Or is it?
1/
November 1, 2025 at 2:32 AM
Day 31, the final story of #AScareADay is “The Path She Sings” by Vanessa Fogg. A fitting last name for this story!
The narrator grieves his undead wife. The creature that moves around his house is no longer her, not really. Or is it?
1/
The narrator grieves his undead wife. The creature that moves around his house is no longer her, not really. Or is it?
1/
Day 30 of #AScareADay is “Bleeding Hearts” by Suzan Palumbo.
A sweet, uplifting tale as we near the end of the challenge. A witch who heals heartbreaks finally begins to face her own grief and open her heart up to someone new.
1/
A sweet, uplifting tale as we near the end of the challenge. A witch who heals heartbreaks finally begins to face her own grief and open her heart up to someone new.
1/
October 31, 2025 at 3:45 AM
Day 30 of #AScareADay is “Bleeding Hearts” by Suzan Palumbo.
A sweet, uplifting tale as we near the end of the challenge. A witch who heals heartbreaks finally begins to face her own grief and open her heart up to someone new.
1/
A sweet, uplifting tale as we near the end of the challenge. A witch who heals heartbreaks finally begins to face her own grief and open her heart up to someone new.
1/
Day 29 of #AScareADay is “The Portrait of Sal Pullman” by Lonnie Nadler and Abby Howard—a web comic and one of the most unsettling stories we’ve read so far!
“I am celebrated. I am a masterpiece. I am in hell.”
1/
“I am celebrated. I am a masterpiece. I am in hell.”
1/
October 30, 2025 at 4:26 AM
Day 29 of #AScareADay is “The Portrait of Sal Pullman” by Lonnie Nadler and Abby Howard—a web comic and one of the most unsettling stories we’ve read so far!
“I am celebrated. I am a masterpiece. I am in hell.”
1/
“I am celebrated. I am a masterpiece. I am in hell.”
1/
Day 28 of #AScareADay is “Ten Excerpts from an Annotated Bibliography on the Cannibal Women of Ratnabar Island” by Nibedita Sen
This was the only story on this year’s challenge that I’ve read before. In fact, I’ve had the pleasure of listening to Nibedita read it aloud at two different salons.
1/
This was the only story on this year’s challenge that I’ve read before. In fact, I’ve had the pleasure of listening to Nibedita read it aloud at two different salons.
1/
October 29, 2025 at 2:50 AM
Day 28 of #AScareADay is “Ten Excerpts from an Annotated Bibliography on the Cannibal Women of Ratnabar Island” by Nibedita Sen
This was the only story on this year’s challenge that I’ve read before. In fact, I’ve had the pleasure of listening to Nibedita read it aloud at two different salons.
1/
This was the only story on this year’s challenge that I’ve read before. In fact, I’ve had the pleasure of listening to Nibedita read it aloud at two different salons.
1/
Day 27 of #AScareADay is “Uncontainable” by Helen Stubbs
“Good Wife Henny is fair of face but her heart is festerin’ black.”
Young Rochelle seldom speaks, but when she does she speaks the truth.
1/
“Good Wife Henny is fair of face but her heart is festerin’ black.”
Young Rochelle seldom speaks, but when she does she speaks the truth.
1/
October 28, 2025 at 4:05 AM
Day 27 of #AScareADay is “Uncontainable” by Helen Stubbs
“Good Wife Henny is fair of face but her heart is festerin’ black.”
Young Rochelle seldom speaks, but when she does she speaks the truth.
1/
“Good Wife Henny is fair of face but her heart is festerin’ black.”
Young Rochelle seldom speaks, but when she does she speaks the truth.
1/
Reposted by Julia O’Connell
Feels like I'm preaching to the choir here, but seriously. Food pantries can stretch every dollar you spend on goods to drop off at their doors twice as far as you can, and stretch it into fresh, locally brought goods, too. Give $$.
October 27, 2025 at 10:58 PM
Feels like I'm preaching to the choir here, but seriously. Food pantries can stretch every dollar you spend on goods to drop off at their doors twice as far as you can, and stretch it into fresh, locally brought goods, too. Give $$.
Day 26 of #AScareADay is the poem “The Right Foot of Juan De Oñate” by Martín Espada.
A bronze statue of a brutal conquistador faces a poetic justice.
1/
A bronze statue of a brutal conquistador faces a poetic justice.
1/
October 27, 2025 at 3:22 AM
Day 26 of #AScareADay is the poem “The Right Foot of Juan De Oñate” by Martín Espada.
A bronze statue of a brutal conquistador faces a poetic justice.
1/
A bronze statue of a brutal conquistador faces a poetic justice.
1/
Day 25 of #AScareADay is “Eleanor Atkins is Dead and Her House is Boarded Up” by Kaaron Warren
This was a fun one! Mostly a happy ghost story, but still with a slight air of the eerie or ominous.
1/
This was a fun one! Mostly a happy ghost story, but still with a slight air of the eerie or ominous.
1/
October 25, 2025 at 6:27 PM
Day 25 of #AScareADay is “Eleanor Atkins is Dead and Her House is Boarded Up” by Kaaron Warren
This was a fun one! Mostly a happy ghost story, but still with a slight air of the eerie or ominous.
1/
This was a fun one! Mostly a happy ghost story, but still with a slight air of the eerie or ominous.
1/
Day 24 of #AScareADay is "Sweet Subtleties" by Lisa L. Hannett.
As in our earlier story "The Sandman," we have a female automaton, but this time she is made out of sweets and sugar rather than clockwork. And we get to see through her perspective.
1/
As in our earlier story "The Sandman," we have a female automaton, but this time she is made out of sweets and sugar rather than clockwork. And we get to see through her perspective.
1/
October 25, 2025 at 12:24 AM
Day 24 of #AScareADay is "Sweet Subtleties" by Lisa L. Hannett.
As in our earlier story "The Sandman," we have a female automaton, but this time she is made out of sweets and sugar rather than clockwork. And we get to see through her perspective.
1/
As in our earlier story "The Sandman," we have a female automaton, but this time she is made out of sweets and sugar rather than clockwork. And we get to see through her perspective.
1/
Day 23 of #AScareADay is “Itsy Bitsy” by John Lindqvist. We’ve reached the contemporary stories.
A nice departure after yesterday’s gore, this story isn’t scary at all. Just slightly unsettling and filled with anxiety and anticipation.
1/
A nice departure after yesterday’s gore, this story isn’t scary at all. Just slightly unsettling and filled with anxiety and anticipation.
1/
October 24, 2025 at 2:12 AM
Day 23 of #AScareADay is “Itsy Bitsy” by John Lindqvist. We’ve reached the contemporary stories.
A nice departure after yesterday’s gore, this story isn’t scary at all. Just slightly unsettling and filled with anxiety and anticipation.
1/
A nice departure after yesterday’s gore, this story isn’t scary at all. Just slightly unsettling and filled with anxiety and anticipation.
1/
Reposted by Julia O’Connell
Enter our Goodreads giveaway for a chance to win an early copy of THE DAUGHTERS by Joanna Margaret, a "dark, gripping, and atmospheric" thriller (Lauren Nossett, author of The Professor).
💙📚 ⚡📚
www.goodreads.com/giveaway/sho...
💙📚 ⚡📚
www.goodreads.com/giveaway/sho...
Book giveaway for The Daughters by Joanna Margaret Oct 23-Nov 22, 2025
Enter to win one of 20 free copies available. Giveaway dates from Oct 23-Nov 22, 2025. Enter to win an early copy of this dark, gripping, and atmospheri...
www.goodreads.com
October 23, 2025 at 3:12 PM
Enter our Goodreads giveaway for a chance to win an early copy of THE DAUGHTERS by Joanna Margaret, a "dark, gripping, and atmospheric" thriller (Lauren Nossett, author of The Professor).
💙📚 ⚡📚
www.goodreads.com/giveaway/sho...
💙📚 ⚡📚
www.goodreads.com/giveaway/sho...