GRETCHEN MCNEIL at Books Inc. Opera Plaza

Schedule

Mon Oct 27 2025 at 07:00 pm to 08:00 pm

UTC-07:00

Location

Books Inc. Opera Plaza | San Francisco, CA

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Join Gretchen McNeil at Books Inc. Opera Plaza for a celebration of her addictively readable horror novel They Fear Not Men in the Woods!
About this Event

Join Gretchen McNeil at Books Inc. Opera Plaza for a celebration of her debut adult novel, an addictively readable modern horror page turner: They Fear not Men in the Woods!

About the book: When Jen Monroe hears her father's remains have been found, she returns home to disprove his death, only to find the forests of rural Washington are hiding horrors beyond imagining


Seven years ago, Jen Monroe left behind her hometown of Barrow, Washington after her father, a forest ranger passionate about protecting old trees from the aggressive logging business that runs their small town, vanished seemingly into thin air. She vowed never to return...until she gets a text from her estranged mother. Her father's remains have been found.


It seems impossible to Jen who has always believed her father is still alive, and she returns home, determined to find out what really happened. When her ex-boyfriend proposes a camping trip into the woods in her father's memory, it feels like the opportunity Jen had been hoping for: to find her father. To find the truth.


But what she finds lurking in the ancient, impenetrable forest may be deeper, darker and deadlier than she could have ever imagined. And it has no intention of letting her leave.


Deeply unsettling and thoroughly creepy, this is feminist horror for those who have always known there’s something waiting in the woods.


"McNeil surprises and thrills in this folklore-inspired hike through mountains of dread. Unlike her characters, readers won’t regret following her into the waiting trees." —Kiersten White, #1 New York Times-bestselling Author of Hide


"I'm a sucker for horror in the secluded woods, and They Fear Not Men in the Woods delivered everything I wanted—and more I hadn't even imagined. With imagery that will stick to your nightmares and a protagonist you can believe in, this sure-handed survival horror novel will make you believe you've been plunged into the mysteries and horror of the wilderness. Full of spooky surprises!" —Tananarive Due, Bram Stoker Award winning author of The Reformatory


"In Gretchen McNeil's new eco-creeper folk horror freakout, she totally flips the script to—Take nothing but trauma, leave nothing but nightmares, K*ll nothing but mankind. You'll burn through this book so fast, the rustle of pages will sound like the bristling of tree branches after a breeze blows through." —Clay McLeod Chapman, author of Wake Up and Open Your Eyes


"What I love about this book is the seamless blend of natural and supernatural. It’s even scarier because it feels real. Put on your backpack and leave your compass at home—this story will pull

you in.” —S.A. Barnes, author of Dead Silence


"Gretchen McNeil spins a wonderfully weird and genuinely frightening tale of horror beyond the lights of town. They Fear Not Men in the Woods is a deep woods page-turner with twists you will not see coming. Highly recommended!" —Jonathan Maberry, New York Times-bestselling author of Burn to Shine and Cold War


Gretchen McNeil has been a published young adult novelist since 2011, currently with Disney-Hyperion. Her latest YA novel is Four Letter Word, which came out in March of this year. Gretchen’s novels have been published internationally in over a dozen languages. Ten: M**der Island, the film adaptation of Ten starring China Anne McClain (Descendants 2, Black Lightning) premiered on Lifetime in 2017, and Get Even and Get Dirty have been adapted as the series Get Even and Rebel Cheer Squad: a Get Even series for BBC and Netflix. An adult horror short story she wrote for Assemble Media last year has already been optioned by a major studio. This is her first adult novel.

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Where is it happening?

Books Inc. Opera Plaza, 601 Van Ness Avenue, San Francisco, United States

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