Gretchen Felker-Martin

Last updated

Gretchen Felker-Martin
Gretchen Felker-Martin.jpg
Born
Occupation
  • Novelist
  • critic
Period2016–present
Genre Horror fiction, science fiction, film criticism

Gretchen Felker-Martin is an American horror author and film and TV critic. She wrote the novels Ego Homini Lupus, Manhunt , Cuckoo, and Black Flame.

Contents

Personal life

Gretchen Felker-Martin grew up in rural New Hampshire. [1] She moved to Worcester, Massachusetts, in 2007. [2] She is transgender and uses she/her pronouns. [1]

Career

Felker-Martin had film and TV criticism published in outlets such as Polygon and Time , [3] [4] and self-published several horror novellas starting in 2016. [5] Felker-Martin's science fiction horror novel Manhunt was published on February 22, 2022, in the U.S. by Tor Nightfire. [6] Manhunt appeared on best-of-year lists in multiple publications, including appearing at No. 1 in Vulture 's list of "The Best Books of 2022". [7] Roxane Gay selected it as one of the "25 Most Influential Works of Postwar Queer Literature", writing, "This is the kind of book that queer writers have been desperate to write forever and are rarely given the opportunity to". [8] The Los Angeles Review of Books wrote, "Felker-Martin's horror novel cunningly weaves trans determinism, war, and trauma together in an effort to locate joy, empathy, and pleasure in a world on fire." [9] In October 2024, Lilly Wachowski announced that she is adapting Manhunt into a TV series with Felker-Martin. [10] [11]

Her novel Cuckoo was published on June 11, 2024. [12] In its first week it entered the USA Today best-seller list, [13] and it was chosen as one of the "Best Horror Books of 2024 (So Far)" by Vulture. [14] Publishers Weekly wrote, "Laying bare grief, terror, and the tenderness that makes it all matter, this is horror at its best." [15] Also in June 2024, she wrote a short story in issue No. 41 of Harley Quinn . [16]

In June 2025, DC Comics announced that Felker-Martin would write a Red Hood ongoing series for mature readers. [17] [18] On 10 September 2025, DC announced that they had canceled the Red Hood series just one day after its debut, following posts made by Felker-Martin on Bluesky regarding the assassination of Charlie Kirk including "Hope the bullet’s okay after touching Charlie Kirk" and "Thoughts and prayers you Nazi bitch". DC said that the posts were "inconsistent with DC's standards of conduct". [19] [20] DC refunded retailers for every issue of the book that they had reserved for sale, including copies of the first issue that had already sold. [21]

Black Flame was published on August 5, 2025. [22] It was a USA Today best-seller, [23] and was named by Them magazine as one of the Best LGBTQ+ Books of 2025. [24] It won the 2025 Transfeminine Review Reader's Choice Award for Outstanding Horror. [25]

Bibliography

Novels

Novellas

Short stories

Comic books

DC Comics

  • Harley Quinn (vol. 4) #33 (back-up story: The Door, illustrated by Hayden Sherman, October 2023)
  • Titans: Beast World Tour – Gotham #1 (story: Scavengers, illustrated by Ivan Shavrin, December 2023)
  • DC Pride 2024 #1 (story: Marasmius, illustrated by Claire Roe, May 2024)
  • Harley Quinn (vol. 4) #41 (back-up story: The Cave, illustrated by Dani, June 2024)
  • Poison Ivy #25 (back-up story: Boots and Handbags, illustrated by Atagun Ilhan, September 2024)
  • Red Hood #1 (illustrated by Jeff Spokes, September 2025)

References

  1. 1 2 Gregory, Drew Burnett (February 22, 2022). "Gretchen Felker-Martin on the Unimportance of Being Valid". Autostraddle . Retrieved October 20, 2024.
  2. Goodfellow, Liz (September 27, 2024). "Worcester Speaks #4: Gretchen Felker-Martin". Worcester Sucks and I Love It. Retrieved October 20, 2024.
  3. "Hunting Men: A Conversation with Gretchen Felker-Martin". Heat Death. January 27, 2022. Retrieved October 20, 2024.
  4. Felker-Martin, Gretchen (October 28, 2022). "Why We Love Violent Delights". Time . Retrieved October 20, 2024.
  5. Snellings, April (January 31, 2022). "On the Cover: Gretchen Felker-Martin". The Big Thrill. Retrieved October 20, 2024.
  6. "Interview: Gretchen Felker-Martin on Manhunt, and Refusing to Hide the Violence of the Everyday". Blood Knife. February 1, 2022. Retrieved October 20, 2024.
  7. Jones, Nate; Quah, Nicholas; Willmore, Alison; Ebiri, Bilge (January 3, 2023). "The Best Books of 2022". Vulture . Retrieved October 20, 2024.
  8. Soller, Kurt; Brown, Liz; et al. (June 22, 2023). "The 25 Most Influential Works of Postwar Queer Literature". The New York Times . Retrieved October 20, 2024.
  9. "The Future Is Bloody: On Gretchen Felker-Martin's Manhunt". Los Angeles Review of Books . April 30, 2022. Retrieved October 20, 2024.
  10. Gregory, Drew Burnett (October 11, 2024). "Lilly Wachowski Has Her Combat Boots On". Autostraddle . Retrieved October 15, 2024.
  11. "Lilly Wachowski to adapt trans body horror novel Manhunt". Dazed . October 14, 2024. Retrieved October 20, 2024.
  12. "Adult Books for Teens 2024". Macmillan Library. October 4, 2023. Retrieved October 20, 2024.
  13. "Cuckoo". USA Today . June 19, 2024. Retrieved October 20, 2024.
  14. Hughes, Emily C. (October 3, 2024). "The Best Horror Books of 2024 (So Far)". Vulture . Retrieved October 20, 2024.
  15. "Cuckoo by Gretchen Felker-Martin". Publishers Weekly . Retrieved October 20, 2024.
  16. Smart, Kendra (June 26, 2024). "Review: Harley Quinn #41". Dark Knight News. Retrieved October 20, 2024.
  17. Epps, Justin (June 17, 2025). "Red Hood Is Leaving Batman as Gotham's Most Underrated Hero Will Soon Get His Own (18+) Series". ScreenRant . Retrieved September 11, 2025.
  18. Johnston, Rich (September 10, 2025). "What Red Hood Tells Us About How H2SH Ends". Bleeding Cool . Retrieved September 11, 2025.
  19. Couch, Aaron (September 11, 2025). "DC Cancels Red Hood Comic Book Series After Writer Shares Inflammatory Post Following Charlie Kirk Shooting". The Hollywood Reporter . Retrieved September 11, 2025.
  20. Heching, Dan (September 12, 2025). "DC cancels comic book series after writer posts about Charlie Kirk's death on social media". CNN. Retrieved October 8, 2025.
  21. Bolies, Corbin (September 11, 2025). "DC Comics Cancels Batman Spinoff 'Red Hood' After Writer Celebrates Charlie Kirk's Death". TheWrap . Retrieved September 13, 2025.
  22. Felker-Martin, Gretchen (October 2, 2024). "Black Flame". Tor Publishing Group. Retrieved December 31, 2025.
  23. "Best-selling Booklist". USA Today. August 13, 2025. Retrieved December 31, 2025.
  24. Osorno, Ana (November 21, 2025). "The 32 Best LGBTQ+ Books of 2025". Them. Retrieved December 31, 2025.
  25. Categories (December 31, 2025). "The 2025 TFR Reader's Choice Awards". The Transfeminine Review. Retrieved December 31, 2025.