Tucson Festival of Books

Step into the Dark Side of YA


Explore the dark side through horror, gothic fantasy and dark fantasy and enter mysteries in the gothic Belladonna, a fight to survive as a Black girl, and a treacherous pirate adventure. These books invite readers to escape into perilous worlds and confront their fears and flaws.


Panelists
Saraciea Fennell

Saraciea J. Fennell is a Black Honduran American writer, founder of The Bronx is Reading program, and creator of Honduran Garifuna writers. She is the editor of the acclaimed anthology “Wild Tongues Can’t Be Tamed,” and her work has appeared in Popsugar, Refinery29, and Culturess....

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Cassandra James

Cassandra James grew up in a mixed immigrant family that fostered her love of storytelling. A Princeton graduate in creative writing, she now lives in Orlando, where she cooks Colombian dishes, adores Broadway musicals, and occasionally swashbuckles....

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Sasha Peyton Smith

Sasha Peyton Smith is The New York Times bestselling author of fantasy novels for young adults, including "The Witch Haven" and "The Rose Bargain." Her work has been translated into more than a dozen languages worldwide....

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Books:
The Black Girl Survives in This One
Horror Stories
Saraciea Fennell
Teen
Flatiron Books
June 2025
ISBN 9781250871701
368 pages
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Capitana
Cassandra James
Teen
HarperCollins Publishers
February 2025
ISBN 9780063345614
400 pages
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The Rose Bargain
Sasha Peyton Smith
Teen
HarperCollins Canada, Limited
December 2025
ISBN 9780063372535
416 pages
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