May 14, 2026 6:00pm – 7:30pm
An evening with bestselling author Ellery Adams, in conversation with Annie Hartnett, celebrating her new novel Invasive Species.
In this cozy horror novel from New York Times bestselling author Ellery Adams, an ancient sea monster masquerading as a beautiful woman must consume nine teenagers to maintain her immortality, for fans of Grady Hendrix and Melissa Broder.
Mrs. Smith is an ancient sea monster who’s been laying low in Cold Harbor for the last century. But now she must take nine human sacrifices before the Fall equinox to maintain her immortality, and the kids in town are ripe for the taking. No one suspects that the reclusive and beautiful woman who has finally come out of the run-down mansion on the hill is the evil that lives in their nightmares.
Only twelve-year-old Jill feels the darkness in their midst, but no one will believe her claims. The women of Cold Harbor, including Jill’s mother, are too busy struggling against their own monsters: greed, a husband’s infidelity, popularity. The only person who seems to believe Jill is the family’s housekeeper, Una, who may know more about Mrs. Smith than she can admit. Together, Jill and Una will both have to face their fears to defeat Mrs. Smith and save the town.
With the hilarious tone of The Pisces and the deep heart of Remarkably Bright Creatures, Invasive Species is a wildly original take on the feminist monster genre.
