Daydream Believer Books and Gifts is hosting UW-Whitewater Associate Professor of Creative Writing Holly Wilson as part of their fall author series on Friday, September 20 from 6-7 p.m. Wilson published her first novel, Kittentits, with Gillian Flynn Publishing in May 2024.

Kittentits is a coming of age story. It’s 1992, and ten-year-old Molly is tired of living in the fire-rotted, nun-haunted House of Friends: a Semi-Cooperative Living Community of Peace Faith(s) in Action with her formerly blind dad and their grieving housemate Evelyn. But when twenty-three-year-old Jeanie, a dirt bike–riding ex-con with a shady past, moves in, she quickly becomes the object of Molly’s adoration. She might treat Molly terribly, but they both have dead moms and potty mouths, so naturally Molly is the moth to Jeanie’s scuzzy flame.

When Jeanie fakes her own death in a hot-air balloon accident, Molly runs away to Chicago with just a stolen credit card and a sweet pair of LA Gear Heatwaves to meet her pen pal Demarcus and hunt down Jeanie. What follows is a race to New Year’s Eve, as Molly and Demarcus plan a séance to reunite with their lost moms in front of a live audience at the World’s Fair.

A surrealist and bold take on the American coming-of-age novel, Holly Wilson’s debut is about the interstices of loss, grief, and friendship.

Holly Wilson’s work has appeared in Narrative, Redivider, Northwest Review, Short Story, New Stories from the South, and elsewhere. Daydream Believer Books and Gifts is an independent bookshop located in downtown historic Lake Mills. The shop offers a wide selection of books in many genres and for all ages. Gifts include reading accessories, picks for the book lovers and curated and unique goods. The shop offers a selection of hot and cold beverages, including coffee and lattes, and bakery.

Editor’s note: The above press release was provided by Daydream Believer Books and Gifts.