“With harsh and frozen Antarctica as the setting, Wilkes presents a story of isolation and grief as a group of men try to survive a vicious supernatural threat.”

As a stowaway on the ship of his hero, the world-renowned explorer James “Australis” Randall, Jonathan Morgan can finally be his true self, his true gender, and live a life of adventure. But things aren’t that great. World War I casts a long shadow, filled with guilt, grief, and mistrust.

In Antarctica’s frozen Weddell Sea, disaster strikes, and the men must take to the land. They arrive at a spot not marked on any of their hand-drawn maps, and they know something is wrong with the land. With no ability to contact the outside world, the men are completely isolated, knowing no one will come to their rescue.

In the freezing Polar nights, the aurora across the dark sky, something is out there, waiting.

A supernatural force, hungry and relentless, uses the men’s deepest desires to pick them off, one by one. Jonathan must face his own personal ghosts before the evil force destroys them all.

Why we’re excited about this book:

Ally Wilkes is a relative newcomer to the horror fiction world. With fiction credits in Nightmare Magazine and Three Crows Magazine, All the White Spaces marks her full-length debut in the horror world. With harsh and frozen Antarctica as the setting, Wilkes presents a story of isolation and grief as a group of men try to survive a vicious supernatural threat. Rio Youers (Lola on Fire) says: “All the White Spaces is a masterpiece. A journey of discovery that left me breathless and emotional for all the right reasons. With this powerful debut, Ally Wilkes has not arrived quietly on the horror scene; she has scaled a towering iceberg and roared.”, while Camilla Bruce (You Let Me In) says: “All the White Spaces is a sly and unsettling gem of a book that makes for an immersive read. The storytelling is as taut as the setting is stark, and rife with creeping dread … I was chilled to the bone while reading it, and could not put it down. I loved every frostbitten word!”, and Paul Tremblay (A Head Full of Ghosts, Survivor Song) says: “All the White Spaces is a heady and haunting mix of historical fiction, polar survival horror, and a meditation on gender, identity, and the enduring mysteries of the self. You won’t soon forget Jonathan Morgan and his trial by ice.”

Releasing from Atria/Emily Bestler Books 29 March 2022, All the White Spaces by Ally Wilkes is available for pre-order now.

BOB PASTORELLA