From award-winning author-editor Lindy Ryan and Hungarian artist Timea Gazdag comes TRICK OR TREAT, ALISTAIR GRAY [Black Spot Books, August 16, 2022], an award-winning picture book just in time for Halloween. In the style of Tim Burton’s The Nightmare Before Christmas and Lemony Snicket’s The Dark, TRICK OR TREAT, ALISTAIR GRAY tells the story of young Alistair Gray who learns the true spirit of Halloween. Already an award-winning animated short, the film features the voice talents of renowned British horror artist Mister Sam Shearon.
In this spooky-but-not-scary holiday tale perfect for the Halloween season, when Alistair Gray attends his school Halloween carnival, he is disappointed to see his favorite night of the year has turned more silly than scary—all treats and no tricks. But when he wanders alone into the dark the night before Hallow’s Eve, Alistair meets a spooky new friend that teaches him the holiday is about fun and of fright…and that there’s more than one way to celebrate Halloween.
TRICK OR TREAT, ALISTAIR GRAY received First Place in the 2021 Chanticleer International Little Peeps Book Awards, and was honored as a 2021 Purple Dragonfly Book Award Honorable Mention.
Called “infectiously charming and hypnotic” by the Lonely Wolf Film Festival, TRICK OR TREAT, ALISTAIR GRAY draws from the author’s heritage celebrating the Celtic traditions of All Hallowtide. Ryan makes the dark approachable, inviting, and not-so-spooky as she mixes the folklore of ancient traditions with modern celebrations of the October holiday. A full educator kit for the book has been prepared to share alongside the short film’s release in time for Halloween 2022. The film has won numerous awards in the Fall 2022 and Spring 2023 film festival circuit, including awards for best animation and best directing, and earned the Grand Prix Award in the ATMN! Ukrainian film festival.
Lindy Ryan is an award-winning author and editor. She serves on the Independent Book Publishers Association Board of Directors, was a 2020 Publishers Weekly Star Watch Honoree, and is the co-chair of the Horror Writers Association Publishers Council. Several of her books have been adapted for film.
Timea Gazdag comes from Hungary, a strange place where everyone is sad. She now lives in the UK, where no one would tell you if they were. She sings, draws, and wonders as she wanders.
Trick or Treat, Alistair Gray will be available in paperback, hardcover, and audiobook on August 16, 2022.
BLACK SPOT BOOKS
Black Spot Books is a women-owned and operated author-centric traditional press specializing in award-winning and bestselling speculative fiction, dark fantasy, and horror.
Learn more about Black Spot Books at www.blackspotbooks.com/ and connect with Black Spot Books on social media @BlackSpotBooks.
