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Press release!
For Immediate Release:
Abrams Fanfare Presents THE HARROWING
by Acclaimed Artist Rye Hickman and Graphic Novel Debut Writer Kristen Kiesling
“You will shiver in fear and delight. You will want to be held and to hold."—Kieron Gillen
(April 15, 2024) This spring, Abrams Fanfare will publish the genre-bending graphic novel thriller THE HARROWING by illustrator Rye Hickman and writer Kristen Kiesling, who is making her comics writing debut. Stylish, surprising, suspenseful, and unsettling, the book follows a psychic teen who hunts potential killers… until she discovers the boy she loves is her next target. THE HARROWING will be published on April 16, 2024.
On the very day that 17 year-old Rowan Sterling almost, nearly, finally, kisses her longtime best friend and secret crush Lucas, she makes a surprising (and quite unwelcome) discovery. Rowan should be worrying about normal teenage things like attending college and whether Lucas is maybe more than a friend after all. But Rowan Sterling is gifted and she’s having terrifying visions of blood and violence. As her premonitions increase in number and intensity, Rowan seeks her father’s help, but instead finds herself drugged, kidnapped, and sent to a mysterious facility called Rosewood. And it isn’t long before Rowan discovers that it isn’t a boarding school or an asylum: it’s a training center for teens with special abilities who are known as Harrows. Rowan is a Harrow, a seer of death, and her world has forever changed.
“Harrows can view the actions of would-be murderers before they commit crimes, and the scientists at Rosewood believe it is their duty to use the Harrows’ powers to make the world a safer place,” said Kiesling. “Rowan is immediately drawn to Rosewood’s mission. After all, she lost her mother to a random act of violence two years prior. However, some of the other Harrows question the treatment of imcrims. How can it be ethical to imprison people who haven’t actually done anything yet?”
Empowered by the skills she’s acquired and ready to change the world, Rowan returns home, but when she reunites with Lucas, she has a vision of him shooting a man in cold blood. Now Rowan is questioning everything she learned at Rosewood—she refuses to believe Lucas is capable of murder—and sets out to protect him from the Harrows.
"Whether or not the ends justify the means is the fraught question at the heart of Rosewood,” said Rye Hickman. “Rowan is a good-hearted and passionate teen whose desire to help make the world a better place leaves her open to manipulation, and whose horrifying psychic powers mean she really can change the world for the better. "
Here’s what people are saying about THE HARROWING
"THE HARROWING will give you death, destiny, defiance and most of all love. You will shiver in fear and delight. You will want to be held and to hold."
—Kieron Gillen, The Wicked + the Divine, Young Avengers
“Ominous… [and] visceral.”
—Publishers Weekly
"Minority Report reframed as if through the eyes of Stephen King, Kiesling and Hickman have created a real page-turner that asks tough questions of fate and morality. A complex and pulse-pounding debut that should be read widely."—Samuel Sattin, author of Buzzing
"An original, genre-blending graphic novel."
—Kirkus Reviews
"I read The Harrowing in one sitting — it's that good. It kept me up long after I turned the final page, pondering big questions -- namely, how far would I go to protect the ones I love."
—Max Brallier, New York Times bestselling author of The Last Kids on Earth
"Kiesling makes excellent use of smooth, engaging, and natural-feeling dialogue to provide...world-building, and the heavy, shadowy illustrations do much of the rest."
—Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books
"A wonderful mix of creepy crawly paranoia with a pinch of horror, Kiesling and Hickman have created something special that will keep you looking over your shoulder for days after reading."
—Marco Finnegan, illustrator of The Keeper
"The Harrowing is a story for fans of the morbidly supernatural. Kristen Kiesling's story is brought to life by Rye Hickman's stylish art in a world of grey and red that will feed your inner goth."
—Daniel McCloskey, creator of Cloud Town
Abrams Fanfare will publish THE HARROWING on April 16, 2024.
About the creators
Kristen Kiesling is extremely good at one thing. Scaring herself. She grew up in Tulsa, Oklahoma where every forest held a mystery, every mound of dirt contained a body, and all roads lead to uncovering fictional truth. She writes graphic novels, young adult fiction and picture books. She enjoys creating new twists that challenge readers’ beliefs, interpretations, and assumptions–questions she hopes linger long after her words have ended.
Rye Hickman is an illustrator/comic artist, and co-creator of Lonely Receiver, Moth & Whisper, The Dead, Test, artist on SFSX and colourist on The House, Feathers, Kingdom Bum. They are a graduate of the Savannah College of Art and Design's Sequential Art program.
About ABRAMS
Founded in 1949, ABRAMS was the first company in the United States to specialize in publishing art and illustrated books. The company continues to publish critically acclaimed and bestselling works in the areas of art, photography, cooking, craft, comics, interior and garden design, entertainment, fashion, and popular culture as well as narrative nonfiction and new works of fiction for adults; children’s books ranging from middle grade to young adult fiction to picture books to board books. ABRAMS creates and distributes brilliantly designed books with the highest production values under the following imprints: Abrams; Abrams ComicArts; Megascope; Surely Books; Abrams Image; Abrams Press; The Overlook Press; Cernunnos; Cameron + Company; Abrams Books for Young Readers; Amulet Books; Abrams Appleseed; and Magic Cat. ABRAMS also distributes books for Booth-Clibborn Editions, Bungie, Alain Ducasse Édition, Èditions de La Martiniére, Editions BPI, Global Golf Group, Lucky Spool, Milky Way Picture Books, The Museum of Modern Art, SelfMadeHero, Tate Publishing, V&A Publishing, and The Vendome Press.
For Immediate Release:
Abrams Fanfare Presents THE HARROWING
by Acclaimed Artist Rye Hickman and Graphic Novel Debut Writer Kristen Kiesling
“You will shiver in fear and delight. You will want to be held and to hold."—Kieron Gillen
(April 15, 2024) This spring, Abrams Fanfare will publish the genre-bending graphic novel thriller THE HARROWING by illustrator Rye Hickman and writer Kristen Kiesling, who is making her comics writing debut. Stylish, surprising, suspenseful, and unsettling, the book follows a psychic teen who hunts potential killers… until she discovers the boy she loves is her next target. THE HARROWING will be published on April 16, 2024.
On the very day that 17 year-old Rowan Sterling almost, nearly, finally, kisses her longtime best friend and secret crush Lucas, she makes a surprising (and quite unwelcome) discovery. Rowan should be worrying about normal teenage things like attending college and whether Lucas is maybe more than a friend after all. But Rowan Sterling is gifted and she’s having terrifying visions of blood and violence. As her premonitions increase in number and intensity, Rowan seeks her father’s help, but instead finds herself drugged, kidnapped, and sent to a mysterious facility called Rosewood. And it isn’t long before Rowan discovers that it isn’t a boarding school or an asylum: it’s a training center for teens with special abilities who are known as Harrows. Rowan is a Harrow, a seer of death, and her world has forever changed.
“Harrows can view the actions of would-be murderers before they commit crimes, and the scientists at Rosewood believe it is their duty to use the Harrows’ powers to make the world a safer place,” said Kiesling. “Rowan is immediately drawn to Rosewood’s mission. After all, she lost her mother to a random act of violence two years prior. However, some of the other Harrows question the treatment of imcrims. How can it be ethical to imprison people who haven’t actually done anything yet?”
Empowered by the skills she’s acquired and ready to change the world, Rowan returns home, but when she reunites with Lucas, she has a vision of him shooting a man in cold blood. Now Rowan is questioning everything she learned at Rosewood—she refuses to believe Lucas is capable of murder—and sets out to protect him from the Harrows.
"Whether or not the ends justify the means is the fraught question at the heart of Rosewood,” said Rye Hickman. “Rowan is a good-hearted and passionate teen whose desire to help make the world a better place leaves her open to manipulation, and whose horrifying psychic powers mean she really can change the world for the better. "
Here’s what people are saying about THE HARROWING
"THE HARROWING will give you death, destiny, defiance and most of all love. You will shiver in fear and delight. You will want to be held and to hold."
—Kieron Gillen, The Wicked + the Divine, Young Avengers
“Ominous… [and] visceral.”
—Publishers Weekly
"Minority Report reframed as if through the eyes of Stephen King, Kiesling and Hickman have created a real page-turner that asks tough questions of fate and morality. A complex and pulse-pounding debut that should be read widely."—Samuel Sattin, author of Buzzing
"An original, genre-blending graphic novel."
—Kirkus Reviews
"I read The Harrowing in one sitting — it's that good. It kept me up long after I turned the final page, pondering big questions -- namely, how far would I go to protect the ones I love."
—Max Brallier, New York Times bestselling author of The Last Kids on Earth
"Kiesling makes excellent use of smooth, engaging, and natural-feeling dialogue to provide...world-building, and the heavy, shadowy illustrations do much of the rest."
—Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books
"A wonderful mix of creepy crawly paranoia with a pinch of horror, Kiesling and Hickman have created something special that will keep you looking over your shoulder for days after reading."
—Marco Finnegan, illustrator of The Keeper
"The Harrowing is a story for fans of the morbidly supernatural. Kristen Kiesling's story is brought to life by Rye Hickman's stylish art in a world of grey and red that will feed your inner goth."
—Daniel McCloskey, creator of Cloud Town
Abrams Fanfare will publish THE HARROWING on April 16, 2024.
About the creators
Kristen Kiesling is extremely good at one thing. Scaring herself. She grew up in Tulsa, Oklahoma where every forest held a mystery, every mound of dirt contained a body, and all roads lead to uncovering fictional truth. She writes graphic novels, young adult fiction and picture books. She enjoys creating new twists that challenge readers’ beliefs, interpretations, and assumptions–questions she hopes linger long after her words have ended.
Rye Hickman is an illustrator/comic artist, and co-creator of Lonely Receiver, Moth & Whisper, The Dead, Test, artist on SFSX and colourist on The House, Feathers, Kingdom Bum. They are a graduate of the Savannah College of Art and Design's Sequential Art program.
About ABRAMS
Founded in 1949, ABRAMS was the first company in the United States to specialize in publishing art and illustrated books. The company continues to publish critically acclaimed and bestselling works in the areas of art, photography, cooking, craft, comics, interior and garden design, entertainment, fashion, and popular culture as well as narrative nonfiction and new works of fiction for adults; children’s books ranging from middle grade to young adult fiction to picture books to board books. ABRAMS creates and distributes brilliantly designed books with the highest production values under the following imprints: Abrams; Abrams ComicArts; Megascope; Surely Books; Abrams Image; Abrams Press; The Overlook Press; Cernunnos; Cameron + Company; Abrams Books for Young Readers; Amulet Books; Abrams Appleseed; and Magic Cat. ABRAMS also distributes books for Booth-Clibborn Editions, Bungie, Alain Ducasse Édition, Èditions de La Martiniére, Editions BPI, Global Golf Group, Lucky Spool, Milky Way Picture Books, The Museum of Modern Art, SelfMadeHero, Tate Publishing, V&A Publishing, and The Vendome Press.