“Alison is like the twisted daughter of Clive Barker and Shirley Jackson.” —Joe Hill, New York Times bestselling author on Tell Me I’m Worthless

From Alison Rumfitt, the author of Tell Me I’m Worthless — “a triumph of transgressive queer horror” (Publishers Weekly) — comes Brainwyrms, a searing body horror novel of obsession, violence, and pleasure.

“[An] intimate, vulnerable triumph.” —Library Journal, STARRED review

“Rumfitt’s talent for portraying the deplorable, disgusting, and grotesque shines throughout her masterful sophomore horror outing.” —Publishers Weekly, STARRED review

When a transphobic woman bombs Frankie’s workplace, she blows up Frankie’s life with it. As the media descends like vultures, Frankie tries to cope with the carnage: binge-drinking, sleeping with strangers, pushing away her friends. Then, she meets Vanya. Mysterious, beautiful, terrifying Vanya.

The two hit it off immediately, but as their relationship intensifies, so too does Frankie’s feeling that Vanya is hiding something from her. When Vanya’s secrets threaten to tear them apart, Frankie starts digging, and unearths a sinister, depraved conspiracy, the roots of which go deeper than she ever imagined.

Shocking, grotesque, and downright filthy, Brainwyrms confronts the creeping reality of political terrorism while exploring the depths of love, pain, and identity.

Also by Alison Rumfitt:

Tell Me I’m Worthless

Cover art by David Palumbo

ALISON RUMFITT is a writer, semi-professional trans woman, and the author of Tell Me I’m Worthless. Her debut pamphlet of poetry, The T(y)ranny, was a critical deconstruction of Margaret Atwood’s work through the lens of a trans woman navigating her own misogynistic dystopia. Her work has appeared in countless publications such as SPORAZINE, datableed, The Final Girls, Burning House Press, SOFT CARTEL, Glass Poetry and more. Her poetry was nominated for the Rhysling Award in 2018. She loves her friends.

Praise for Brainwyrms

“[An] intimate, vulnerable triumph.…With biting, abrasive commentary, Rumfitt’s bold prose pulls no punches and refuses to relent….Rumfitt’s tour-de-force work of queer body horror is a must-read for fans of Gretchen Felker-Martin, Eric LaRocca, and Hailey Piper.” —Library Journal, STARRED review

“Rumfitt’s talent for portraying the deplorable, disgusting, and grotesque shines throughout her masterful sophomore horror outing.” —Publishers Weekly, STARRED review

“Filthy, searing, and hideously intimate – a modern classic.” —Gretchen Felker-Martin, author of Manhunt

“The literary equivalent of swallowing a mouthful of maggots and liking it. Rumfitt is a master of disgust, twisting the horrors of transphobia into a hellish masterpiece, and you won’t be able to look away.” —Andrew Joseph White, New York Times bestselling author of Hell Followed With Us

“A gut-churning infestation mixing extreme depravity with a hive of obsessive violence. Rumfitt consistently has her finger to the societal pulse.” —Hailey Piper, Bram Stoker Award-winning author of No Gods for Drowning

“Brutal and terrifyingly visceral, Brainwyrms will slither inside unsuspecting readers and lay eggs there—an infection that can never be cured, a book that refuses to be ignored.” —Eric LaRocca, author of Things Have Gotten Worse Since We Last Spoke and Other Misfortunes

“Brainwyrms cements Rumfitt’s reputation as horror’s rising star of the dark, disgusting, and subversive. She writes with compassion and lyricism about the most fucked-up subjects, making her readers complicit in the vile and uncanny.” —Ally Wilkes, author of All the White Spaces