Published in 2025
178 pages
Molly Olguín is a queer writer, educator, and monster aficionado. She has stories in magazines like Quarterly West and the Normal School. She was the recipient of the Loft Mentor Series Fellowship in 2019. With Jackie Hedeman, she is the creator of the audio drama The Pasithea Powder. She teaches English and creative writing to high school students in Seattle, Washington.
What is this book about?
INDIES INTRODUCE SELECTION TOP 10 DEBUT BOOKS • INDIE NEXT SELECTION • GRACE PALEY AWARD WINNER for SHORT FICTION • DEBUTIFUL’S MOST ANTICIPATED BOOKS OF 2025 • MS. MAGAZINE’S MOST ANTICIPATED FEMINIST BOOKS OF 2025
DEBUT AUTHOR, MOLLY OLGUÍN brings us THE SEA GIVES UP THE DEAD, a collection of stories sprinkled into the soil of fairy tales, left to take root and grow wild there.
“Witty, witchy, darkly brilliant”—Andrea Barrett
“A wunderkammer of beauty and sorrow.”—Carmen Maria Machado, author of In the Dream House
“…gripping from the opening sentences to the last lines.”—Kirkus Reviews
“…contains multitudes” —NPR
“Fantastical, queer, wildly inventive stories.”—Pocket Books Shop
“A mouthwatering ride.”—Paper Boat Booksellers
“Absolutely fantastic!”—Left Bank Books, St. Louis, MO
A lovesick nanny slays a dragon. The devil tries to save her mother. A girl drowns and becomes a saint. Three kids plot to blow up their dad, a grieving mother sails the sea to find her son’s grave, a scientist brings a voice to life, and a mermaid falls into the power of a witch. Here, historical fiction, horror, and fantasy tangle together in a queer garden of love, grief, and longing.
