Laura Lee Bahr

Watch the full reading here: https://youtu.be/JSZzvqyfoR4 “When you write historical fiction, you don’t just research from a desk – sometimes you have to go stand where it happened.” That’s how author Laura Lee Bahr opened her talk and reading at Readercon 2026, titled “Ask the Spirits” – and by the end of the hour, the room had done a little more than sit and listen. A Little Séance Before the Séance Bahr began by asking the audience to picture Lilydale, New York – the real

When you write historical fiction, you don't just research from a desk — sometimes you have to go stand where it happened. For The Knocking — out July 14th — that meant a trip to Lilydale, New York. Founded in the early 1900s, Lilydale is a real, still-active hamlet where the residents are Spiritualists — mediums, healers, and their families. It's not a theme or an aesthetic there. You actually have to be a Spiritualist to live in the town. I happened to visit during a medium

When you write historical fiction, you don't just research from a desk — sometimes you have to go stand where it happened. The Knocking — out July 14, 2026 — is built around the real story of Katie (Kate) Fox and her sister, two girls in an 1848 haunted farmhouse in Hydesville, New York, who did something no one had quite done before: they talked back. One knock for yes. Two for no. A whole alphabet's worth of raps to spell out messages from whatever — or whoever — was makin

I'm beyond thrilled to share the official trailer for The Knocking, my new novel from Little A — arriving July 14, 2026.

The Knocking Laura Lee Bahr. Little A, $16.99 trade paper (316p) ISBN 978-1-6625-3774-5 Bahr (Who Is the Liar) shines in this creepy gothic thriller about a female journalist in 1850. Reporter and women’s rights advocate E.A. Howe has been sent by her employer to seek out newspaper publisher Horace Greeley at Castle Doldrum, his home outside New York City. Howe is supposed to show Greeley an editorial denouncing Congress’s passage of the Fugitive Slave Act in hopes that Greel

POV: you come home to a box on your doorstep and it's your advance reader copies 🖤 The Knocking (Bk 1 in my new series!) drops July 14th and this is my first look at the actual physical book. It's beautiful.

The Knocking is Now Available for Pre-Order; Release Date: July 14, 2026 New York, NY — What happens when a woman trained to ask hard questions is sent to investigate something she cannot explain? That is the harrowing premise of The Knocking, the gripping new historical gothic novel by acclaimed author Laura Lee Bahr, publishing July 14, 2026 from Little A. It is available for pre-order now. The year is 1850. Edith Ann “E.A.” Howe, journalist, women’s rights advocate, and f

IT'S HERE!! 🖤✨ The cover reveal for THE KNOCKING — my new gothic historical fiction novel coming July 14th! I am SO excited about this book. Ghosts. Journalism. Spiritualism. 1850 New York. It's spooky, it's fun, it's a little bit occult-y, and I cannot wait for you to read it. Pre-order now in hardback, paperback, or audio — #TheKnocking #CoverReveal #GothicFiction #HistoricalFiction #Preorder #Spiritualism #Ghosts #AuthorLife #BookCommunity