About the Book

The Sea Gives Up the Dead is a collection of stories sprinkled into the soil of fairy tale, left to take root and grow wild there. A lovesick nanny slays a dragon. The devil tries to save her mother. A girl drowns and becomes a saint. Three kids plot to blow up their dad, a grieving mother sails the sea to find her son’s grave, a scientist brings a voice to life, and a mermaid falls into the power of a witch. Here, historical fiction, horror, and fantasy tangle together in a queer garden of love, grief, and longing.

Advance Praise and Reviews

“Stories that affirm the value of truly being alive.”
—Kirkus Reviews

“Witty, witchy, darkly brilliant, Molly Olguín’s metamorphic tales radiate insight and intelligence, exploding into visions as fresh and surprising as those of Angela Carter or Octavia Butler, Jeanette Winterson or Kirstin Valdez Quade.”

—Andrea Barrett, author of Natural History and Ship Fever

“I could not be more excited by this haunting, lush, genre-leaping collection—reading it, I am reminded of how I felt when I first encountered Karen Russell's St. Lucy's Home for Girls Raised by Wolves. Gorgeously written, imaginative, startling—The Sea Gives Up the Dead is a wunderkammer of beauty and sorrow.”

—Carmen Maria Machado, author of In The Dream House

Indies Introduce Booksellers Say:

“The Sea Gives Up the Dead offers readers a delectable assortment of fantastical, queer, wildly inventive stories with much to say about the intersections of gender and race. If you’ve been looking for a jewel box of tales a la Angela Carter’s The Bloody Chamber, then this is for you!”

—Austin Carter, Pocket Books Shop, Lancaster, PA

“There is no getting away from death here. However, there’s a subtlety that resonates throughout the wonderfully smooth and lithe prose that makes these tales a joy to read. Absolutely fantastic!”

—Randy Schiller, Left Bank Books, St. Louis, MO 

“A fantastical collection of stories that mix the wildness of fairy tales with horror to create otherworldly stories about love, grief, and yearning in a different way. So good!”

—Kim Brock, Joseph-Beth Booksellers, Cincinnati, OH

“A mouthwatering ride of interesting twists and explosive characters. The Sea Gives Up The Dead has just the right amount of intrigue to suck you in further with each story you read.”

—Desirae Wilkerson, Paper Boat Booksellers, Seattle, WA

Spring Events

The Mineral School Presents Molly Olguín
February 20th, 2025
7:30 - 9:00 PM
114 Mineral Rd S, Mineral, WA, United States, WA 98355

AWP 2025

AWP Awards Ceremony
March 26th, 2025, 6:00 PM
Los Angeles Convention Center, 1201 S Figueroa St, Los Angeles, CA 90015

Red Hen Press Reading/Party
March 28th, 2025
Top of the Hub, 700 Wilshire Blvd, Suite 700 Los Angeles, CA 90017

Get Lit Conference

Writing the Unspeakable: Excavating Silence in Narrative
A panel with Kirsten Sundberg Lunstrum, Margot Kahn, and Kristin Millares Young.
Saturday, April 12th, 2025. 10:30 a.m.
Montvale Event Center, 1019 W 1st Ave, Spokane, WA 99201

Dear Writer: Creativity in Community
A panel with Maggie Smith, Tara Campbell, Lauren Westerfield, Jennifer Yu, and Anya Backlund.
Saturday, April 12th: 1:30 PM - 2:30 PM
Montvale Event Center, Ella’s Theater, 019 W 1st Ave, Spokane, WA 99201

Molly Olguín and Kirsten Sundberg-Lunstrum: ‘The Sea Gives Up The Dead: Stories’ and ‘Elita: A Novel’
A signing and Q&A
Thursday, April 24th, 7:00 pm
Third Place Books, Ravenna

The Sea Gives Up the Dead Book Launch
In conversation with Sasha LaPointe and Jasminé Elizabeth Smith.
Friday, May 2nd: 7:00 PM
Charlie’s Queer Books, 465 N 36th St, Seattle, WA 98103

Literary Nights Salon
Monday, May 5th, 6:30 PM
Historic Issaquah Train Depot, 78 First Avenue NE
Issaquah, Washington 98027