BookPeople Presents: Johnny Compton - Dead First

Schedule

Wed Feb 18 2026 at 07:00 pm to 08:00 pm

UTC-06:00

Location

BookPeople | Austin, TX

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BookPeople welcomes Johnny Compton in conversation with Agatha Andrews to celebrate the release of Dead First.
About this Event

Please welcome Johnny Compton and Agatha Andrews to celebrate Dead First!

This event is free and open to the public.

  • Start time: 7:00 P.M.
  • Run time: 45-60 minutes, followed by a signing line.
  • Location: The second floor of BookPeople.

The author will be signing and personalizing copies of the book after the speaking portion of the event.

  • To get a book signed, a copy of the event book or an item of equal value must be purchased from BookPeople.
  • For high volume events, post-talk signing lines can become very long. For such events, we recommend arriving and checking in to the event early as that will get you into an earlier signing group.

Guidelines:

  • Seating will be on a first-come, first-served basis and is not guaranteed.
  • If you have any other questions, please visit our Eventbrite FAQ. If your question isn't covered in the FAQ, feel free to email us at [email protected].
  • All event guidelines are subject to change.
  • BookPeople reserves the right to cancel or postpone this event if necessary.
  • There will not be a live stream or recording available.

About the book:

From the Bram Stoker award-nominated author of The Spite House comes a bone-chilling new novel about a private investigator hired by a mysterious billionaire to discover why he can’t die.

When private investigator Shyla Sinclair is invited to the looming mansion of eccentric billionaire Saxton Braith, she’s more than a little suspicious. The last thing she expects to see that night is Braith’s assistant driving an iron rod straight through the back of his skull. Scratch that—the last thing she expects to see is Braith’s resurrection afterward.

Braith can’t die, it turns out, but he has no explanation for his immortality, and very few intact memories of his past. Which is why he wants to pay Shyla millions to investigate him, and bring his long-buried history to light.

Shyla can’t help but be intrigued, but she’s also trapped by the offer. Braith has made it clear that he knows she’s the only person he can trust with his secret, because he knows all about hers.

Bold, atmospheric, and utterly frightening, Johnny Compton’s Dead First is spine-chilling supernatural horror about the pursuit of power and the undying need for reckoning.

About the author:

Johnny Compton is a Stoker Award nominated author whose short stories have appeared in Pseudopod, Strange Horizons, The No Sleep Podcast and several other publications. His fascination with frightening fiction started when he was introduced to the ghost story “The Golden Arm” as a child. The Spite House, his debut novel, was released in 2023. His second novel, Devils K*ll Devils, was released in 2024.

About the moderator:

Agatha Andrews is a writer and host of the She Wore Black Podcast, a show about Gothic, Mystery, and Horror books. Her nonfiction book about vintage Gothic Romance novels, Women Running from Houses, will be published by Running Press (an imprint of Hachette) in Fall 2027. In her spare time, you can find her wandering libraries, archives, and old cemeteries around Austin.

By purchasing a book from BookPeople, you are not only supporting a local, independent business – you’re showing publishers that they should continue sending authors to BookPeople.

Thank you for supporting Johnny Compton, Agatha Andrews, and your local independent bookstore!

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Where is it happening?

BookPeople, 603 North Lamar Boulevard, Austin, United States

Event Location & Nearby Stays:

Tickets

USD 0.00

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