Literary Hub Most Anticipated Sci-Fi, Fantasy, and Horror Books for the Rest of 2025

“If you love my worlds, you're going to love Cahill’s: stunning imagination, daring premises, and deep character dives. A new author to watch.”
—N. K. Jemisin, author of the Broken Earth series

“Nimble, sly, and strange as the title character, Cahill has wrought a fine filigree of a tale—with a bold, uncompromising heart.”
—Catherynne Valente, New York Times bestselling author of The Fairyland Series

“A wondrous, time-traveling, shape-shifting fable that was just what I needed to read. I loved traveling with Nesi and growing wiser alongside her. Cahill has a trickster’s gift for storytelling and a poet's sorcerous attunement to language.”
—Karen Russell, Pulitzer Prize Finalist & author of The Antidote

[STARRED REVIEW] DEBUT There are 99 Pillars of Heaven in the temple, and Nesi has petitioned 96 of these gods in hopes of finding a patron. When the avatar of the Fox of Tricks winks at her, she chooses not just a patron but a cause she thought was settled history. Her audition throws her back to her people’s worst epoch, an era of subjugation and enslavement, whose overthrow gave them the backbone to rise. But history has to be fought for, and someone has to be the spark that incites that rebellion. It’s up to Nesi, beaten, starved, broken, and out of her depth and her own time, to be that spark. If she doesn’t succeed, she’ll never be born, and history will be altered forever. This story considers the nature of courage, the course of history, and what it means to stand up and fight for a better future. It’s also a marvelous and heartbreaking tale of a lone warrior for good who learns that she can’t succeed alone but that making friends carries its own devastation. VERDICT Highly recommended for readers who enjoy a good time-travel story that explores all the paradoxes and anyone who loves Nghi Vo’s “Singing Hills Cycle.” 
—Library Journal

“A triumph, a candle-bright and timely pleasure lit up by gorgeous prose and an exuberant love for the world and for hope.”
—Cassandra Khaw, author of The All-Consuming World

“Nesi has already failed 96 of the 99 possible auditions to become an acolyte for a Pillar—she even failed the test of her own great-grandfather, the Bison. So in desperation, she auditions for the Fox of Tricks, T’sidaan, only to be sent back in time to the beginning of the Zemini occupation of her homeland. Her task? To put the rebellion into motion by somehow undermining the Wolfhound’s soldiers and inspiring the prisoners at Outpost Pakaal to act. This charming novella paints a picture of how rebellions can spark: a mix of resisting despair, resisting erasure, and telling the right stories. T’sidaan is an interesting and complex trickster, and the inserted folktales featuring the Fox and their brethren are delightful. Some of the nitty-gritty plot points can get a bit hazy (Nesi breaks her leg yet is up and moving in no time), but readers will forgive the small missteps for the rich world building, witty asides, and determined protagonists. The ending also leaves open the exciting possibility of more Nesi and Fox stories to come.”
—Booklist

“Cahill makes his full-length fiction debut with this playful novella, featuring fox gods, time travel, humor, plucky main characters, and so much more.” 
—Literary Hub

“Fox-fleet and brazen, merry and mischievous, haunted by mercies: Martin Cahill’s Audition for the Fox has the trick of doling delight. The language leaps and laughs, teeming with a trickster’s teasing. This book made me happy: both while I was reading it, and long after I’d finished.”
—C. S. E. Cooney, author of Saint Death’s Daughter

“Tricksy, generous, timely—Audition for the Fox reminds us that we are the sum of the stories we tell ourselves...and stories can change.”
—Premee Mohamed, author of The Butcher of the Forest

“Tricky, sharp, and unexpected, Audition for the Fox is a delight. I can’t wait to see where Cahill takes us next!” 
—Max Gladstone, co-author of the New York Times-bestseller This is How You Lose the Time War

“Rich world building, witty asides, and determined protagonists.”
—Booklist

“Come for the trickster god shenanigans, stay for the powerful themes of resistance. A time-bending adventure in a richly imagined world. This book keeps its full heart on display at all times.”
—John Wiswell, Nebula Award-winning author of Someone You Can Build a Nest In and Wearing the Lion

“This book is timely and timeless, heartbreaking and inspiring.”
—Lyndsie Manusos, author of From These Dark Abodes

“With intricate and personal worldbuilding, Audition for the Fox juggles time travel, folklore, and resistance with a trickster's deftness. A delight to read!” 
—Erin M. Evans, author of Empire of Exiles

“Audition for the Fox drops you headlong into a fascinating setting where the stakes ramp up until you’re turning the pages with bated breath.”
 —Jordan Shiveley, author of Hot Singles In Your Area

“Martin Cahill gives us a world of gods and stories and hope against oppression. He writes with great warmth and heart, and—as in any good book with a fox in—sharply sly trickery set to the best of ends.”
—Kat Howard, Alex Award-winning author of An Unkindness of Magicians

-Promotion targeting reviews and interviews in leading media venues
-Planned Indie Next campaign to include ABA bookseller outreach
-Author appearances to include ALA, New Voices/New Rooms, New York Comic Con, and the World Science Fiction and Fantasy conventions
-Print and digital ARC distribution via Goodreads, NetGalley, and Edelweiss+
-Planned book giveaways to include Goodreads and Storygraph
-Online promotion to include Instagram/book blog tour, cover reveal, launch event and social media campaigns via Instagram, BlueSky, Facebook, and other outlets