*Winner of the 2024 SHIRLEY JACKSON NOVEL AWARD ** 'A gorgeously written, surrealist folktale that goes bone deep. Compelling, thought-provoking, thrilling, haunting , Yvonne Battle-Felton's Curdle Creek is simply a marvel ' Paul Tremblay, author of THE CABIN AT THE END OF THE WORLD and HORROR MOVIE 'A thoughtful, sinister tour-de-force ' Tananarive Due, L.A. Times Book Prize-winning author of THE REFORMATORY Welcome to Curdle Creek. We're dying to make you feel at home. Osira, a forty-five-year-old widow, is an obedient follower of the strict conventions of Curdle Creek, an all-Black town in rural America governed by a tradition of ominous rituals designed to keep the residents safe. Curdle Creek has one particularly strict policy: one in, one out. And one day, it is Osira's turn.

Forced into the great unknown. The sinister reality of her birthplace unravels around her. As she comes face-to-face with those she believed were lost, Osira must reckon with all she has ever been told and confront the insidious cruelties of inheritance. 'From the start, there are echoes of Shirley Jackson 's The Lottery , but readers who think they know where this is going will be surprised, as Osira's story has many weirder twists and turns ahead' Guardian ' Tautly written, utterly gripping , Yvonne Battle-Felton's novel invites the reader into a world of mystery and mythology ' Carolyn Ferrell, author of DEAR MISS METROPOLITAN.