09/21/2026
Curio Mrvosa is beyond thrilled to host an author panel featuring writers from BENEATH THE BLUEBONNETS: TALES OF TERROR BY TEXAS WOMEN at our upcoming SKULLastic Book Fair — meet Jess Hagemann, Carmen Gray, and Lauren Oertel!
SKULLastic Book Fair
Sunday, October 4
2–5 p.m.
Black Sparrow Music Parlor
Learn more at the link in our bio 💀
Jess Hagemann’s debut novel HEADCHEESE won a 2019 IPPY Award in Horror. Her sophomore novel MOTHER-EATING was named a “Most-Anticipated Horror Book of 2025” by Paste Magazine and made Bloody Disgusting’s list of Best Horror Books of 2025. That same year, Rapture Publishing issued a standalone chapbook of her short story “Resurrection.” This year, she wrote the officially licensed novelization of the movie BURNING PALMS for Encyclopocalypse Publications. Jess received her MFA from the Jack Kerouac School, and is the former recipient of a teaching fellowship at McNeese State University and a writing residency at Dear Butte. She lives in Austin.
jesshagemann.com
Carmen Gray is a freelance author, poet, and journalist, and the editor of BENEATH THE BLUEBONNETS, a collection of women’s horror stories. Her writing blends horror, speculative, and historical fiction. A native Texan of Mexican-American heritage, she is a retired teacher and channels her multicultural background into research and storytelling. Her work has appeared in ROAD KILL: TEXAS HORROR BY TEXAS WRITERS, various Castle Bridge Media anthologies, and literary journals. She is currently working on her second novel for publication. When she isn’t busy writing or teaching yoga, you can find her reading tarot, sipping tea, or wandering the streets of foreign cities.
carmengraywriter.com
Lauren Oertel is a writer, editor, and community organizer based in Austin, Texas. Her work has been published in Black Fox Literary, The Westchester Review, Gemini Magazine, The Sun Magazine, and more. She has been a winner or finalist in contests with The Letter Review, Writer’s Digest, Prime Number Magazine, and others. Her writing has been supported by the Kenyon Review, Napa Valley, and Bread Loaf Writers’ Conferences, among others. Lauren is the coauthor of the book INSIDE OUT: A T
