Brainwyrms
By Alison Rumfitt
Published 6 October 2023
9781739220723 / Paperback / £10.99
“Brutal and terrifyingly visceral, Brainwyrms will slither inside unsuspecting readers and lay eggs there—an infection that can never be cured, a book that refuses to be ignored.”
—Eric LaRocca, author of Things Have Gotten Worse Since We Last Spoke and Other Misfortunes
When a TERF bombs Frankie’s workplace, she blows up Frankie’s life with it. As the media descends like vultures, Frankie tries to cope with the carnage: binge-drinking, sleeping with strangers, pushing away her friends. Then, she meets Vanya. Mysterious, beautiful, terrifying Vanya.
The two hit it off immediately, but as their relationship intensifies, so too does Frankie’s feeling that Vanya is hiding something from her. When Vanya’s secrets threaten to tear them apart, Frankie starts digging, and unearths a sinister, depraved conspiracy, the roots of which go deeper than she ever imagined.
Shocking, grotesque, and downright filthy, Brainwyrms confronts the creeping reality of political terrorism while exploring the depths of love, pain, and identity.
“A gut-churning infestation....Rumfitt consistently has her finger to the societal pulse.”
—Hailey Piper, Bram Stoker Award-winning author of No Gods for Drowning
“Rumfitt is a master of disgust, twisting the horrors of transphobia into a hellish masterpiece, and you won’t be able to look away.”—Andrew Joseph White, New York Times bestselling author of Hell Followed With Us
“Brainwyrms cements Rumfitt’s reputation as horror’s rising star of the dark, disgusting, and subversive.”
—Ally Wilkes, author of All the White Spaces
Alison Rumfitt is a writer and semi-professional trans woman. Her debut pamphlet of poetry, The T(y)ranny, was a critical deconstruction of Margaret Atwood’s work through the lens of a trans woman navigating her own misogynistic dystopia. It was published by Zarf Editions in 2019. Tell Me I’m Worthless is her debut novel. Her work has appeared in countless publications such as SPORAZINE, datableed, The Final Girls, Burning House Press, SOFT CARTEL, Glass Poetry and more. Her poetry was nominated - twice! - for the Rhysling Award in 2018. You can find her on Twitter @hangsawoman and @alison.zone on Instagram. She loves her friends.
