Simon & Schuster UK snaps up Reddit-inspired How to Survive Camping by Bonnie Quinn

Simon & Schuster UK has acquired How to Survive Camping by software developer Bonnie Quinn, a four-book horror series based on the popular Reddit r/NoSleep thread, which has 17,000 followers.

Charlotte Trumble, senior commissioning editor, adult fiction, bought world English-language rights in four books from Maria Brannan at Greyhound Literary Agency. North American rights were sold to Tim O’Connell, vice-president publisher, at Saga Press, Simon & Schuster US.

The first book in the series, How to Survive Camping: The Man With No Shadow, will be published in hardback in August 2025 in the UK, simultaneously with the Saga Press edition. Film/TV rights were optioned in a deal at auction, to be announced.

It is “a pulpy, commercial horror series which contains blood, monsters and a morally grey female protagonist who is trying her best to keep everyone alive. Even if that means committing the occasional murder”, S&S UK said.

The series follows Kate, a young woman who inherits Goat Valley Campground after the death of her parents. Passed down through the generations, the campground has become old land and it calls to creatures of folklore who make it their home and their hunting ground. As the campground manager, Kate draws up rules to try to protect her campers—if the man with the skull cup offers you a drink, accept it or you will die a gruesome death; don’t buy ice from the children with no wagon; and of course, never, ever follow the lights. Still, not every camper survives their stay.

In book one, Kate is having a bad year. One of the campground creatures has been playing a long game and Kate will soon realise that, no matter what, she is always one step behind the man with no shadow.

Quinn is a senior software developer in Columbus, Ohio, with a degree in Computer Science and an MBA. She is an active contributor of horror series and short stories in the r/NoSleep community on Reddit.

Quinn said: “It has been an incredible journey creating How to Survive Camping, from that first Reddit post I wrote while camping, all the way to here. I’m deeply grateful for my agent, Maria Brannan, and it’s been a delight to revisit Goat Valley Campground with Charlotte Trumble and Tim O’Connell. I’m excited to share my blend of humour and horror with the world, and perhaps teach readers a few things about camping along the way.’

Trumble said: “How to Survive Camping is really the most fun you can have with horror. It’s dark, it’s gruesome, it’s genuinely terrifying, but it’s also hilarious and somehow makes you want to visit Goat Valley Campground, despite the very real chance of death. Bonnie is an extremely talented writer who immediately brings you into her world, and I can’t wait for readers to join us camping. Just be careful who you speak to.”

Brannan said: “I’ve been captivated and terrified by Bonnie’s imagination ever since I read her first Reddit post about Kate’s adventures in Goat Valley Campground. In How to Survive Camping she’s created an exceptionally vivid and fully realised world with an unforgettable voice. I’m so excited that it’s found the perfect home with Charlotte and Tim at Simon & Schuster and I can’t wait to see them bring the books to life.”