Read a free extract of 'Welcome to White Hart'

This spooky season, we're celebrating Irish mythology, Southern Gothic storytelling and an electrifying new voice in young adult fiction.

From Irish folklore to the American South

Halloween has its roots in Samhain, the ancient Irish festival steeped in traditions surrounding life, death, fortune-telling and the Otherworld. Carried across the Atlantic by Irish emigrants, these customs evolved in North America, where carved turnips became glowing pumpkin jack-o'-lanterns and Halloween grew into the celebration we know today.

When we think of Irish America, cities like Boston, New York and Chicago often spring to mind, places where Irish traditions such as St Patrick's Day parades found new life. But the influence of Irish culture extends far beyond these familiar centres, reaching into the American South, where Celtic folklore and supernatural traditions have found fertile ground in the rich storytelling landscape of Southern Gothic fiction.

It is at this fascinating intersection of Irish mythology and the American South that we find Welcome to White Hart, the extraordinary debut novella from Alex Dawson.

Welcome to White Hart: Where Irish mythology meets Southern Gothic

Set in a motel in rural Alabama that doubles as the home of an Irish-American family, Welcome to White Hart is a magical, Otherworld-infused story for teenage readers.

Drawing on the myths, folklore and supernatural traditions of Ireland, Dawson weaves a strikingly original tale in which the ordinary and extraordinary collide.

Rich in atmosphere, imagination and unforgettable prose, Welcome to White Hart brings an exciting new perspective to Irish-inspired storytelling.

And we're not the only ones who think so.

Praise for Welcome to White Hart

Eoin Colfer, author of Artemis Fowl, calls it:

“This is wonderful stuff. A total jaw-dropper. This book will blow your socks off! (And make a great movie.) I loved it!”

Kevin Barry, author of The Heart in Winter, describes it as:

“Sparkling, vivid and original – a rare treat.”

Dave Rudden, author of Sister Wake, praises Dawson's extraordinary prose:

“The power of Dawson’s writing is not just in how he writes magic, but how he makes everything magic – every texture, every look, every line. An electrifying, unforgettable debut.”

And Lev Grossman, author of The Magicians, celebrates its originality:

“Charlotte’s Web meets Winter’s Bone. Cormac McCarthy does the Mabinogion. Narnia by way of Faulkner. Those comparisons come close, but, really, this is such a strikingly new sort of story, it defies even the most colorful of comps; so totally original, even the most unexpected mashup can’t pin it down.”

Meet the author: Alex Dawson

Alex Dawson is a storyteller in every sense of the word.

To some, he's a much-loved creative writing teacher at Rutgers University in New Jersey. To others, he's the proprietor of The Rac-On-Tour, his travelling bookshop on wheels.

He's also the creative force behind The Devil & Daisy Dirt, a folk-horror fairy tale featuring live bluegrass music and an eight-foot puppet, and Room to Swing an Ax, a Southern Gothic song-cycle and memoiristic monodrama inspired by his childhood on a haunted horse farm in rural Alabama.

His colourful career has also included stints as a carpenter, carriage driver, bouncer and bartender.

These varied experiences, alongside his fascination with folklore, performance and the supernatural, inform a distinctive storytelling voice that refuses to be confined to any one genre.

At Little Island, we're delighted to introduce Alex Dawson as one of the most exciting new prose voices we've encountered in recent years.

Follow Alex Dawson on Instagram

Discover Welcome to White Hart

Curious to discover what makes Welcome to White Hart so special?

We're inviting readers to experience Alex Dawson's extraordinary storytelling for themselves with a free extract from the book.

Read a free extract of Welcome to White Hart

Join us for the book launch

We're also delighted to invite readers to celebrate the launch of Welcome to White Hart and meet Alex Dawson in person, alongside special guest and acclaimed author Dave Rudden.

Date: Thursday 5 November 2026
Venue: Books Upstairs, Dublin

Join us for a celebration of storytelling, Irish folklore and an unforgettable new voice in young adult literature.

Register for the book launch