“Whimsical and philosophical by turns, Scott Lambridis’ deft debut transports readers to the far-flung island of St. Ulphia, where cannibalistic locals claim an evil spirit is possessing them one by one like some deadly game of whack-a-mole. Waiting for the dreaded Wendigo to pop up again, two Western investigators fight their own demons as well as their own carnal desires for one another. Both a rollicking adventure and a subtle meditation on mental illness, St. Ulphia’s Dead is seriously hysterical.” —Yance Wyatt, author of The Watersmith

“Energetic, surprising and full, St. Ulphia's Dead brims with humour and invention. A wonderful debut.” —Oisín Fagan, author of Eden’s Shore

"A wholly original whirlwind of a novel where science and rationale knock up against the stuff of the fantastical. Heartfelt and engrossing, St. Ulphia’s Dead artfully explores the nature of love and what it means to be alive. A real knock-out piece of writing!" —Matthew Iribarne, author of Astronauts & Other Stories

“In his dark, satirical, and markedly original novel, St. Ulphia’s Dead, Scott Lambridis shines a fiery light on the mysteries of human relationships and the politics of scientific research. Through skillful shifts in perspective, Lambridis provides access to the thoughts, fears, and desires of his central characters, Mirs and Jo, who are investigating an extraordinary psychosis that is ravaging the island of St. Ulphia. Throughout the novel, there is a persistent, enchanting tension between seemingly opposite extremes—horror and love, humor and tragedy, science, madness, and magic. In implicit and explicit ways, the novel asks how these polarities “exist at once?” In the confident hand of Scott Lambridis, the enigmas are examined in captivating depth, delivered to readers with a satirical edge and a deeply human heart. The events that drive St. Ulphia’s Dead will resonate in the minds of readers long after the final, evocative page has turned.” —Aaron Tillman, author of Lucy Miles’ Photogenic Mind and Consolation Miracles

"St. Ulphia’s Dead is alive with lush, electric strangeness. Otherworldly and gloriously resistant to categorization, Lambridis’s debut burns through the limits of what we think we know, leaving something wild in its wake." —Brittany Micka-Foos, author of It’s No Fun Anymore

“St. Ulphia’s Dead is as propulsive as it is exquisitely written, and unlike any other love story I’ve ever encountered. A wild, unexpected, and darkly comic ride, highly recommended to anybody with a beating heart.” —Peter Orner, author of The Gossip Columnist’s Daughter

"Drawing on the traditions of science fiction, folk horror, and the literary ghost story, but with the sensibilities and lyrical style of the best magical realism, St. Ulphia’s Dead is a detective story that becomes more mysterious rather than less as the investigation progresses, and the detectives gradually learn that the true mystery is within themselves." —Bradshaw Schift, author of The Parliament of Mice: A Fable

“The dead never tell the truth about themselves. St. Ulphia’s Dead begins as a mystery and turns into a provocation, asking us to question our most fundamental moral assumptions. Daring, inventive, and transgressive, it is also romantic—and deeply joyful." —Olga Zilberbourg, author of Like Water and Other Stories

"Welcome to St. Ulphia! Here you will meet a cast of strange and magnetic characters circling around a compelling central mystery. Your stay on the island will be eerie, unsettling, intriguing, amusing, and ultimately heartwarming. As you learn the fantastical true secrets of the island and its inhabitants, you'll come to realize that the greatest mystery is in the connections between people, the way we understand each other, and the ways we love." —Ben Black, AGNI Assistant Fiction Editor

"A sociomedical mystery and ontological adventure bristling with satiric energy, dramatic irony, and romance. Provocative to think about, and great fun to read." —Jennifer duBois, author of The Last Language

"Shocking, immersive, and compulsively readable, St. Ulphia’s Dead is a fascinating look at how we process our darkest experiences, and who we rely on to help us survive them." —Martha Conway, author of We Meet Apart

"In St. Ulphia’s Dead, Scott Lambridis deftly weaves together absurdity and humor with the weighty issues of life, death, and love. In this ingenious novel, nothing is as it appears, including the mere fact of existence. A delightful and wildly inventive debut!" —Laurie Ann Doyle, award-winning author of World Gone Missing: Stories

"Scott Lambridis brings us a provocative philosophical novel about the desire to name and thus control the mysteries of the world—and about the parallel inclination to become the ecstatic expression of human hunger." —Carolyn Cooke, author of The Bostons, Daughters of the Revolution, and Amor and Psycho

"ST. ULPHIA’S DEAD follows the trials of two mismatched investigators from a mysterious medical corporation as they try to unearth the secrets of The Wendigo—a giant screaming creature with a tendency to kill and devour the ones it most loves. Is the Wendigo real? Is the isolated African island of St. Ulphia real? Are the villagers—a motley assortment of Spanish, French, Aleutian, Haitian, and Venezuelan inhabitants, real? Are the investigators themselves —a skeptical young woman and an enthusiastic young man, real? A dark and richly imagined story, with some sweet surprises." —Molly Giles, author of LIFE SPAN 

Appearances, events, and tour information

Series of events in Bellingham, Seattle, and the San Francisco Bay Area, composed of individual readings/signings, panel discussions, and reviving the Action Fiction literary performance series (formerly hosted in the SF Bay Area for a number of years, successfully), in which local actors perform short works by local writers.

Faculty at the Chuckanut Writers Conference, hosting 2 sessions

SFSU creative writing class visit on 4/28

Chuckanut Writers in Bellingham: The Serious Business of Being Silly (panel) on 6/26

Chuckanut Writers in Bellingham: Action Fiction on 6/27

Action Fiction @ New Prospect Theatre in Bellingham on July 7 (launch day)

Reading/signing at Ada's Books in Seattle on July 13

Elliott Bay Booksellers in Seattle: The Serious Business of Being Silly (reading, signing, panel) on July 14

Village Books in Bellingham: The Serious Business of Being Silly (reading, signing, panel) on July 25

Coordinating events in the San Francisco Bay Area at Books Inc, Green Apple, Keplers Books, Borderlands, Fabuloso Books

SF State CW Department "The Business of Creative Writing" visit in the fall

Promotional plans

Focusing on engaging individual readers deeply through direct conversation

Blurbs by well-known authors (see below for sample, acquired over 20 so far)

Nurturing connections with existing book clubs and coordinating readers to host intimate local salons

Outreach to and exposure from personal and professional networks

Personal affiliations (University of Virginia alumni network, San Francisco State University, San Francisco Community of Writers, Theta Chi Fraternity, San Francisco Writers Workshop)

Lit journals where I've been published (Painted Bride, Fence, Sequestrum)

Other literary arts orgs (Hugo House, Page Street Writers)

Local public libraries

English and Creative Writing departments for visits and collaborations (Western Washington, University of Washington, Seattle University)

Psychology and Anthropology departments and organizations (NAMI Whatcom, UW, USCF, Society for the Study of Psychiatry and Culture, UC Berkeley, Seattle University, Columbia Narrative Medicine Program, and more)

Awards -- targeting first novel, magical realism, and horror-adjacent awards

Bookseller advocacy -- completed interviews with 10 local/indie bookstores (publication forthcoming by RHP), which has led to them reading ARCs to promote the book internally, plan events, seller picks, book club advocacy, etc

Drip campaign of preorder perks for early readers

Extensive outreach to podcasts, reviewers, influencers for coverage, ongoing.

Social media promotions

Nurturing an active monthly newsletter and blog

Features in local media (example: recent feature in the Cascadia Daily News)

Bi-weekly social media posting, with topics including book features (news, articles, blurbs, behind-the-scenes, countdowns), reading (top 10, highlights, ghosts of Kafka series, around-the-world reading), supporting other authors (blurbs, events, reviews),

Producing an intimate author interview series with local filmmaker (to be released in May)