Uncanny Women

Award-winning author, artist, and editor G.G. Silverman sits down with host KJ Brantley to talk about her feminist horror collection, The Blood Year Daughter, out now from Creature Publishing. Rooted in dark fairy tales and folklore, the collection explores female autonomy, desire, survival, motherhood, sacrifice, and the ways women are expected to give pieces of themselves to the people around them. She discusses how "Fold" within her collection is one impactful example of this.They dig into how G.G.’s experience as the daughter of an immigrant mother—and later becoming a caregiver herself—shaped her writing about motherhood and sacrifice. They also talk about female rage, the real-life experiences behind one of the stories in her collection, "All Hail the Boy King," and what it means to be told “boys will be boys” when women are left to protect themselves. G.G. and KJ also discuss the growing visibility of women in horror, why women’s voices have historically been downplayed, and how horror can bring experiences that have long been ignored into the open.G.G. shares the long road to finding the right publishing home for The Blood Year Daughter, the vulnerability of finally putting deeply personal writing into the world, and what she’s working on next, including another collection that brings together speculative futures, folklore, fairy tales, and “what happens when the old gods meet sci-fi.”G.G. Silverman’s Uncanny Women Podcast Book Picks:The Haunted Houses She Calls Her Own by Gwendolyn KisteCyanide Constellations: And Other Stories by Sara TantlingerBooks Written by G.G. Silverman Mentioned in This Episode:The Blood Year DaughterOther Authors Mentioned in This Episode:Joyce Carol OatesConnect with G.G. Silverman:Instagram: @gg_silvermanWebsite: ggsilverman.comAbout the Host, KJ Brantley:KJ Brantley is an Indigenous-mixed, autistic horror and dark fiction author whose work explores motherhood, feminism, identity, neurodivergence, trauma, and psychological horror. Drawn to the intersection of entertainment and social commentary, she crafts stories that are both unsettling and emotionally resonant. She is the host of Uncanny Women Podcast and founder and organizer of the SoCo Women in Horror Fest. She is currently the President of the Women in Horror Arts and Media Association and is co-owner of Broom Book & Candle Horror and Dark Literature Bookstore, Cafe, and Bar in Denver. KJ lives in Colorado with her husband, two toddlers, and an ever-growing stack of spooky books.Learn more at WomenInHorrorFestival.com and BroomBookCandle.com

Emerging Colorado Horror Author, Marissa Yarrow, sits down with host, KJ Brantley for a casual conversation in the ballroom at location for 2027's SoCo Women in Horror Fest, The Mining Exchange Hotel. The discuss Marissa's upcoming traditionally published horror debut where influencers receive an exclusive invite to an island festival that quickly goes from once-in-lifetime experience to a fight for survival, Island X, through Mad Axe Media (Out Now). They dig into the state of horror for women now and why someone would read Carrie as written by Stephen King and why some of the same readers may not have read it if it were written by a woman back then. They also talk about what's next for Marissa, including dabbling in cult horror and why one of her favorite books by a woman in horror is Queen of Teeth by Hailey Piper.Marissa Yarrow's Uncanny Women Podcast Book Picks:Queen of Teeth by Haley PiperSorrowland by Rivers SolomanBooks Written by Marissa Yarrow Mentioned in This Episode:Island XThere It Is AgainOther Books and Authors Mentioned in This Episode:Lojman by Ebru OjenConnect with Marissa Yarrow:Instagram: @marissayarrowauthorWebsite: https://marissayarrow.wordpress.com/About the Host, KJ Brantley:KJ Brantley is an Indigenous-mixed, autistic horror and dark fiction author whose work explores motherhood, feminism, identity, neurodivergence, trauma, and psychological horror. Drawn to the intersection of entertainment and social commentary, she crafts stories that are both unsettling and emotionally resonant. She is the host of Uncanny Women Podcast and founder and organizer of the SoCo Women in Horror Fest. She is currently the President of the Women in Horror Arts and Media Association and is co-owner of Broom Book & Candle Horror and Dark Literature Bookstore, Cafe, and Bar in Denver. KJ lives in Colorado with her husband, two toddlers, and an ever-growing stack of spooky books.Learn more at WomenInHorrorFestival.com and BroomBookCandle.Com

In this episode of Uncanny Women Podcast, KJ Brantley sits down with Angela Sylvaine, Bram Stoker Award-nominated author of Frost Bite, Cold Snap, The Dead Spot: Stories of Lost Girls, and Chopping Spree—and a self-proclaimed “cheerful goth.”Angela shares how she found her way to horror after beginning her writing career in her thirties and gradually learned to trust the voice and instincts that made her work distinctly her own. She and KJ talk about the pressure writers often feel to prove their work is sufficiently serious or literary, and the freedom that comes with recognizing that horror can be funny & quirky, emotionally honest, and deeply meaningful all at once.Their conversation shifts to the ’90s-inspired worlds of Frost Bite and Cold Snap, where humor and familiar pop culture references help tell stories about real fears, loss, and uncertainty...and of course, cults. Angela talks about how her childhood shaped both her upbeat personality and the darker themes in her writing, and why strength, especially the strength of women and girls, keeps showing up in her work.KJ and Angela also discuss the more unsettling emotional territory of The Dead Spot: Stories of Lost Girls, the catharsis of female rage, and the assumptions people sometimes make about women who write violent or macabre fiction. Angela considers why her future work may be angrier, how horror allows writers and readers to face injustice without looking away, and why the horror community itself is often far more well-adjusted than you might expect.Angela Sylvaine’s Woman in Horror Book Pick:With Friends Like These by V.S. LawrenceAngela Sylvaine’s Books Mentioned in This Episode:Frost BiteCold SnapThe Dead Spot: Stories of Lost GirlsChopping SpreeOther Books and Authors Mentioned in This Episode:With Friends Like These by V.S. LawrenceMy Best Friend’s Exorcism by Grady HendrixThe Troop by Nick CutterHell Hath No Sorrow Like a Woman Haunted by RJ JosephGwendolyn KisteRJ JosephConnect with Angela Sylvaine:Instagram: @angela_sylvaineWebsite: angelasylvaine.comAbout the Host, KJ Brantley:KJ Brantley is an Indigenous-mixed, autistic horror and dark fiction author whose work explores motherhood, feminism, identity, neurodivergence, trauma, and psychological horror. Drawn to the intersection of entertainment and social commentary, she crafts stories that are both unsettling and emotionally resonant. She is the host of Uncanny Women Podcast and founder and organizer of the SoCo Women in Horror Fest. She is currently the President of the Women in Horror Arts and Media Association. KJ lives in Colorado with her husband, two toddlers, and an ever-growing stack of spooky books.Learn more at WomenInHorrorFestival.com.

In this episode of Uncanny Women Podcast, KJ Brantley sits down with Hailey Piper, Bram Stoker Award-winning author of Queen of Teeth, Teenage Girls Can Be Demons, No Gods for Drowning, This Movie Doesn’t End the Way We Want, and She Isn’t Herself Tonight, among many more.Hailey discusses her two upcoming releases, including the cursed-film horror of This Movie Doesn’t End the Way We Want and the emotional, strange, alien-abduction spiral of She Isn’t Herself Tonight. Together, they explore horror as a genre of emotion, the integrity of art, grief, cosmic horror, queer women in horror, and the ways fear can help us sit with discomfort instead of looking away.The conversation also dives into No Gods for Drowning, motherhood, worldbuilding, complicated characters, writing cityscapes and large-scale settings on the page, letting emotion guide narrative logic, the expectations placed on women writers, and why reading horror by women and marginalized authors expands what the genre can be. Hailey also shares her recent favorite written by a woman in horror.Hailey Piper's Woman in Horror Book Picks:Sleep Alone by J.A.W. McCarthy: https://bookshop.org/a/111724/9798897320103Hailey Piper's Books Mentioned in this Episode:Queen of Teeth: https://bookshop.org/a/111724/9781946335418Game in Yellow: https://bookshop.org/a/111724/9781668077085No Gods for Drowning: https://bookshop.org/a/111724/9781967846160She Isn't Herself Tonight: https://bookshop.org/a/111724/9781668077122This Movie Doesn't End the Way We Want: https://bookshop.org/a/111724/9781835411483Other Authors Mentioned in this Episode:RJ JosephConnect with Hailey Piper:Instagram / Bluesky: @haileypiperfightsWebsite: haileypiper.comAbout the Host, KJ Brantley:KJ Brantley is an indigenous-mixed, autistic horror and dark fiction author whose work explores motherhood, feminism, identity, neurodivergence, trauma, and psychological horror. Drawn to the intersection of entertainment and social commentary, she crafts stories that are both unsettling and emotionally resonant. She is the host of The Uncanny Women Podcast and founder and organizer of the SoCo Women in Horror Fest. She is currently the President of the Women in Horror Arts and Media Association. KJ lives in Colorado with her husband, two toddlers, and an ever-growing stack of spooky books.Learn more at WomenInHorrorFestival.Com

In this episode of Uncanny Women Podcast, KJ Brantley sits down with CJ Leede, author of Maeve Fly, American Rapture, and Headlights.CJ reflects on the acclaim that followed the release of Maeve Fly and what it's been like navigating the expectations that come with a breakout debut. Together, they discuss how religion and grief have each shaped her work, the emotional power of body horror, and the ways America's cultural and physical landscapes finds its way into her fiction.The conversation explores writing flawed, unapologetic women, writing a MMC with emotional depth, the influence of place on storytelling, horror publishing, how she researched Colorado for her latest book, and the inspiration behind Headlights. CJ also shares her latest favorites written my women in horror.Books by CJ Leede MentionedMaeve Fly: https://bookshop.org/a/111724/9781250857859American Rapture: https://bookshop.org/a/111724/9781250857927Headlights: https://bookshop.org/a/111724/9781250857965Books & Authors Recommended in This EpisodeKiss, Slay, Replay by Rachel Harrison: https://bookshop.org/a/111724/9798217188574Cranberry Cove by Hailey Piper: https://bookshop.org/a/111724/9798988128632Game in Yellow by Hailey Piper: https://bookshop.org/a/111724/9781668077085Connect with CJ LeedeInstagram / Threads / Bluesky: @ceejthemoment

In this episode of Uncanny Women Podcast, KJ Brantley sits down with V.S. Lawrence, prolific indie horror author of 80s Ghosts, With Friends Like These, and the upcoming Just Us Here.Together, they discuss women's friendships in horror, growing up as '90s kids, religious upbringing and religious horror, cults, nostalgia, and the ways our childhood and life experiences shape the stories they tell. V.S. also shares how her own experiences with isolation and illness influenced her recurring themes of friendship and found family.They also talk about indie publishing, horror community, book festivals, gothic horror, and the books and women in horror authors they think more readers should discover.Books by V.S. Lawrence Mentioned80s Ghosts https://bookshop.org/a/111724/9798223965145With Friends Like These https://bookshop.org/a/111724/9798224335930Just Us Here (coming July, 2026) https://bookshop.org/a/111724/9798233648779Books & Authors Recommended in This EpisodeThe Auctioneer by Joan Sampson https://bookshop.org/a/111724/9781948405706Trifles by Susan Glaspell https://bookshop.org/a/111724/9781420970067When the Reckoning Comes by LaTanya McQueen https://bookshop.org/a/111724/9780063035041Work by A.C. Hessenauer, including the upcoming Going to the SixWork by Candace NolaWork by Red LagoePlease see the Uncanny Women Podcast affiliate store at Bookshop.org for full list of books featured with each episode: https://bookshop.org/lists/books-featured-on-uncanny-women-podcastConnect with V.S. LawrenceWebsite: V.S. Lawrence: https://vslawrence.com/Instagram: @vslawrence.author

In the debut episode of Uncanny Women Podcast, KJ Brantley sits down with author Sara van Os to discuss horror, wilderness survival, queer identity, and the strange confidence that comes from watching far too much Naked and Afraid.Together, they dive into van Os’s debut novel Decomposition Book, writing deeply flawed characters, survival narratives, and women in horror fiction.The conversation also explores:writing protagonists with OCDopera and performancegender presentationSara’s writing processwriting women with agencywhy Sara believes she would absolutely survive Naked and AfraidIf you enjoy dark humor, survival horror, and conversations about women writing horror on their own terms, this episode is for you.Books and Authors Mentioned in This EpisodeFollow Sara van OsInstagram: @saramcclarinethttps://www.instagram.com/saramcclarinet/By Sara van OsDecomposition BookPurchase Here: https://bookshop.org/a/111724/9781335001894Books Mentioned in the ConversationInto the Wild by Jon KrakauerPurchase Here: https://bookshop.org/a/111724/9780385486804Wilderness of Girls by Madeline Claire FranklinPurchase Here: https://bookshop.org/a/111724/9781638932826The Grace Year by Kim LiggettPurchase Here: https://bookshop.org/a/111724/9781250145451Follow Uncanny Women PodcastInstagram: @uncannywomenpodcasthttps://www.instagram.com/uncannywomenpodcastFollow Host, KJ BrantleyInstagram: @authorkjbrantleyhttps://www.instagram.com/authorkjbrantleyThreads: @authorkjbrantleyhttps://www.threads.com/@authorkjbrantleyTikTok: @authorkjbrantleyhttps://www.tiktok.com/@authorkjbrantleyFollow the SoCo Women in Horror FestivalInstagram: @womeninhorrorfestivalcohttps://www.instagram.com/womeninhorrorfestivalcoTikTok: @socowomeninhorrorfesthttps://www.tiktok.com/@soco.women.in.horror

In this episode of Uncanny Women Podcast, KJ Brantley sits down with Shirley Jackson and Stoker Award-nominated author, editor, and scholar R.J. Joseph to discuss horror through the lens of history, identity, monstrosity, and the Black lived experience.Together, they explore Joseph’s acclaimed collection Hell Hath No Sorrow Like a Woman Haunted, her upcoming collection My Monsters Ain't Like Yours, the idea of literary splatterpunk, Blackademic scholarship, motherhood in horror, and the lasting influence of Beloved on horror literature and storytelling.The conversation also dives into:horror as historical reckoningthe monstrous feminineBlack womanhood in horrorthe intersections of academia and genre fictionhow horror reflects real-world trauma and violencewhy monstrosity can be a powerful literary lensBooks, Stories, and Authors Mentioned in This EpisodeFollow R.J. JosephWebsite: https://www.rjjosephwrites.comInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/rjjosephwrites/Threads: https://www.threads.com/@rjjosephwritesBy R.J. JosephHell Hath No Sorrow Like a Woman HauntedPaperback: https://bookshop.org/a/111724/9781990082184Hardcover: https://bookshop.org/a/111724/9781990082191My Monsters Ain't Like Yourshttps://bookshop.org/a/111724/9781967911448“Screams from the Bayou”https://bookshop.org/a/111724/9781970383027Other Books MentionedProgeny by Kenya Moss-Dymehttps://bookshop.org/a/111724/9798330337644Beloved by Toni Morrisonhttps://bookshop.org/a/111724/9780525659273The Dead Spothttps://bookshop.org/a/111724/9781958598276