Hails, bookseller!

The nominees for this year's Philip K. Dick Awards have been announced, and we are incredibly proud that Koji A. Dae's CASUAL—released by Tenebrous in 2025—is one of the seven finalists.

If you're not currently stocking this thoughtful, discomfortingly prescient sci-fi novel, now's the perfect time!

About CASUAL:

Valya’s neural implant is amazing.

CASUAL managed her depression and anxiety, stabilized her mood, and helped her get pregnant, but new laws forbid her from using the device when she's sole caregiver for her infant, so Valya needs to detox before giving birth. The full-blown panic attacks have her considering a controversial clinical trial that would place a tandem implant in her unborn baby and allow Valya to keep hers active. Her only options are to attempt solo parenting without CASUAL, or install a minimally tested device in her vulnerable child. 

Casual is a stark and cutting glance at a near future that looks uncannily like our present, exploring themes of bodily autonomy and the struggle for mental health in a world increasingly divided.

“Up there with Atwood, Bradbury, Dick, and Gibson. Dae’s novel seems both inevitable and horrifying. A must-read for the moment.” 

• Literary Hub, The Most Anticipated Books of 2025

"A stunningly written story about class, mental health, women’s autonomy and all the ways a society can seek to control these, in a future so real I could almost touch it.”

•  Ed Crocker, FanFiAddict 

“Eerily believable, incredibly relatable and heartbreaking.”

• Booklist

$19.99, Trade Paperback

Out Now

ISBN: 978-1-959790-29-7

Read CASUAL in its entirety.

And just a reminder, our next title—KAYAK by Kristal Stittle—releases in one month!

Early readers have called it a mixture of The Walking Dead, A Quiet Place, and the YA classic Hatchet by Gary Paulsen; honestly, that list of comps feels pretty on the nose!

About KAYAK:

For eighteen-year-old Keith—floating alone on a series of lakes and rivers, lost and without supplies—his kayak is his means of survival. Solid ground means certain death at the scissor-claws of vicious invading creatures.  

What he needs is to find more people; but terrible guilt anchors him in solitude. A year earlier, when the creatures first appeared, it was Keith's choices that brought disaster to the island community that took him in.

Now, it's time to take responsibility for his actions, heal his scars, and survive.

Told in two alternating timelines, Kayak is a story of family, the strength we draw from others, and the strength we learn to draw from ourselves.

“An original and surprising apocalyptic tale. The dual narrative is a revelation. A highly recommended dystopian tale with a heart.”

• David Moody, author of Autumn, Hater, and Shadowlocked

"KAYAK absolutely drowns you in detail. Stittle has an uncanny ability to convey tactile prose with such supreme clarity that I caught myself holding my breath on a few occasions. A hypnotically suffocating and immersive read."  

• J.Krawczyk, author of It Looks Like Dad

Release Date: February 17, 2026

$19.99, Trade Paperback

ISBN: 978-1-959790-57-0  

Read KAYAK in its entirety.

Thank you for everything you do, booksellers; and Happy New Year!

Matt + Alex

Tenebrous Press

www.tenebrouspress.com