Local author Rebecca Cuthbert will celebrate her sixth traditionally published book at 2 p.m. Saturday at Downtown Brew in Fredonia. This is a public event and all are welcome.

There will be readings, cookies, drink specials, an open mic and more.

“The Hauntings Back Home” is a collection of ghost stories with two special guests: author Jonathan Gensler contributes the foreword and the 13th bonus story, and local debut author Beatrice Sheehan, daughter of Fredonia residents Mary Woo and Michael Sheehan, is spotlighted at the beginning of the collection with her spooky poem “When You Wander in the Woods.”

Cuthbert dedicated this collection to the Anderson-Lee Library in Silver Creek, where she spent many happy afternoons as a child browsing the card catalogue’s “G” drawer, looking up books about ghosts, finding them in the stacks (a treasure hunt!), and gleefully plucking them away to check out at the front desk.

Gensler, in his foreword, describes how he has “grown to love how (Cuthbert) delves into what it means to be feminine in a world of brutal violence, disdain, and ambivalence targeting women, mashing up our expectations of what will happen, because of course, we always know what will happen. In the many rooms of Rebecca Cuthbert’s house, you will never receive quite what you expect.”

Author Chloe York has defined and described the collection with these words: “Thirteen tales, thirteen ghosts — from vengeful spirits to chilling symbols of grief, Cuthbert and Gensler’s collection is haunting, clever, and immersive. Standout stories include “The One That Got Away,” about an isolated Canadian town where citizens are being hunted by a decades-old danger, “The Vines that Bind,” featuring a vindictive mother-in-law’s ghost with a fondness for pumpkins, “Let the Black Dog In,” a short-but-sweet examination of mourning, and “The Hole Had Always Been There,” an equally effective symbolic take on the grieving process.”

“The Hauntings Back Home” is published by Undertaker Books, and can be found at www.undertaker.com, as well as online at Barnes & Noble, Amazon, Bookshop.org, and elsewhere. Librarians and bookshop owners can obtain the title via Ingram.

Additional local and regional events include the following:

— A book signing at the Erie, Pa., Barnes & Noble, 5909 Peach St., Erie, Pa., 4-8 p.m. Oct. 24

— Story Shapes Workshop, Buffalo Creative Workshop on plot and structure graphics designed to help writers plot and structure their next stories with writing prompts, share time, and Q&A at 255 Great Arrowhead Dr. (Suite 205), Buffalo, NY, Oct. 25, 1 to 3 p.m. (Donation based; public welcome; register through link at rebeccacuthbert.com/events.)

— Author Reading and Ghost Story Talk from new release “The Hauntings Back Home,” discussion of ghost story structure and tropes, Q&A, book signing, Anderson-Lee Library, 43 Main St., Silver Creek, NY, Thursday, Oct. 30, 6 p.m. Live event, public welcome – 18 and over recommended, registration appreciated but not required; go to rebeccacuthbert.com/events and follow link or to andersonleelibrary.org/events and follow the link.)

Book event dates will be added for November and December. Go to rebeccacuthbert.com/events to keep up with those or follow her on social media.

Cuthbert is the author of “In Memory of Exoskeletons,” a poetry collection that won the 2024 Imadjinn Award for Best Poetry Collection. Two of its poems were nominated for the Pushcart Prize, and one was nominated for a Best of the Net Award. Other titles include “Creep This Way: How to Become a Horror Writer with 24 Tips to Get You Ghouling” (nominated for a Golden Scoop Award); “Self-Made Monsters” (nominated for the 2025 Imadjinn Award for Best Story Collection, with one of its stories nominated for the Pushcart Prize); “Down in the Dark Deep Where the Puddlers Dwell,” illustrated by Fredonia alum Dakota Marquardt; and “Six O’Clock House & Other Strange Tales,” a collection of Weird tales and dark magical realism. For more information on Cuthbert’s work and other upcoming local events, go to linktr.ee/rebeccacuthbertwrites.