Datura Books snares ‘slasher-crime for the millennial generation’ by Lewis

Angry Robot imprint Datura Books has snared a slice of “slasher-crime for the millennial generation” by Maria Lewis. 

Gemma Creffield, commissioning editor, acquired world English and audio rights to The Graveyard Shift from Ed Wilson at Alcock & Johnson. It will publish on 10th October 2023.  

The publisher described The Graveyard Shift as “a delicious pulp mash-up of horror and pop culture” told from the perspective of would-be victim Tinsel Munroe.  

The synopsis says: “Tinsel Munroe has busted her tits to get where she is. Yet her dream of working in radio hasn’t turned out to be everything she hoped it would. Sure, she has her own show – the aptly titled ‘The Graveyard Shift’ – where she celebrates the sounds of horror cinema. It’s a pop cultural oasis for the niche audience she has cultivated, but the wage is barely enough to cover her rent and the midnight hours are putting a strain on her relationship with her tattooist boyfriend. After three years at Melbourne’s coolest station, she’s seemingly no closer to a prime-time slot. That is, until someone is murdered live on air.” 

Creffield said: “I was so excited when Maria Lewis’s The Graveyard Shift came into my inbox. As a millennial myself, I am a huge lover of 80s/90s nostalgia and this one is chock full of it. I immediately connected to the character of Tinsel and found her bravery and creativity endlessly fascinating. Maria herself is an absolute powerhouse and I’m so happy that she is joining the Datura list.” 

Lewis added: “The Graveyard Shift is the realisation of a lifelong dream of mine: to write a slasher. I grew up obsessed with the work of John Carpenter, Wes Craven and Alfred Hitchcock. With the resurgence of the literary slasher, the possibility to play in that sandpit with a modern, feminist lens is something I honestly never thought I’d get to do. The fact I get to do it at Datura – a place that supports all sorts of spooky doings from such a wide array of spooky doers – is what can only be described as fully sick. The Graveyard Shift is a blood-soaked love letter to one of my favourite cities in the world, Melbourne, and an ode to the pop culture that defines us (for better or worse) through an unforgettable Final Girl.”