I write things. Also, I’m actually smiling in that picture. That’s my smile. Shut up.

When We Were Real

“This is a marvel.”—Kirkus (starred review)
“…a tour de force”—Locus
“…a heady and entertaining treat”—Publishers Weekly
“…a philosophical feast”—BookPage
“…hilarious and heartfelt”—Library Journal
“…an absolute riot”—Reactor Mag
“[A] five-star adventure by an author at the peak of his craft.” —Booklist

out as of April 1, 2025 from Saga Press/ Simon & Schuster
Scroll down for tour info!

Pre-order and impress my family!
Powell’s Books | Amazon | Bookshop.org | Hudson Booksellers | IndieBound

Seven years after the world was notified we’ve been living in a simulation, two old friends decide after a terminal cancer diagnosis to take one last road trip, a tour of North America’s Impossibles—the glitches, anomalies, and miracles in the landscape that appeared on Announcement Day. Their fellow passengers on the bus include a nun hunting for an absent God, a pregnant influencer determined to make her child too famous to be deleted, horny octogenarians, an indignant skeptic… and a professor on the run from sociopaths who take The Matrix as scripture. It’s The Canterbury Tales, but with 21st-century pilgrims trying to figure out what really matters in an artificial world.

“…an epic adventure and an examination of how humans (or their simulacra) interact when everybody is at their worst. It’s a testament to Gregory’s skill at character development that the people in this novel, and not the bizarre phenomena they’re observing, are the most fascinating part. This is a marvel.”
—Kirkus (starred review)

Hey Audio Book Listeners!

Want to keep track of all the characters but don’t have the physical book on you?

Download this handy seating chart!

“It’s Gregory’s most complicated and sophisticated narrative structure to date… it’s something of a tour de force that will likely satisfy both readers familiar with Gregory’s signature inventiveness… and – more important, perhaps – with a cast of characters whose fates seem worth investing in.
—Gary K. Wolfe, Locus Magazine

“A deeply philosophical road trip novel… Gregory bats the existential issues back and forth, offering no easy answers… The result is a heady and entertaining treat.”
—Publishers Weekly

“Gregory delivers a philosophical feast, while maintaining an adventure quest plot and pace… This novel is a fine accomplishment for Gregory—
an intellectual, enriching and emotionally resonant read.
—BookPage

“Daryl Gregory’s latest is an absolute riot and a joy from the jump. As the characters wrestle with reality (and each other), we’re taken on a whirlwind tour of weirdness. And I, for one, could not be more ready to go.”
—Christina Orlando. Reactor (formerly Tor.com)

VERDICT: This hilarious and heartfelt read that tackles big ideas will be popular with book clubs. Recommend Gregory’s latest to fans of How To Age Disgracefully by Clare Pooley and The Big Door Prize by M.O. Walsh.—Library Journal

“An addictive thriller packed with winning characters and big, brilliant ideas. Don’t miss it.”
—Lev Grossman, bestselling Author of The Magicians and The Bright Sword

“The soulfulness is hilarious, and vice versa (very important). Is this our America right now, seen with cosmic x-ray vision? Is it a Daryl Gregory novel? Same thing.”
—Kim Stanley Robinson, bestselling author of The Ministry for the Future

Reactor: 30 SFF Titles to Look Forward to in 2025
LitHub: 20 Sci-Fi and Fantasy Books to Look Forward to in 2025
BookPage: Most anticipated SFF & horror of 2025

Tour Stops!

Apr 1–Seattle — Town Hall Seattle w/ Matt Dinniman

Apr 7–Portland–Powell’s Books Downtown w/ Lilah Sturges

Apr 11–Tacoma– — Washington Library Association Book Bash

Apr 13– San Francisco — SF in SF w/ Nghi Vo. Tickets here

May 14–New York — Fantastic Fiction at KGB

May 15–New York — P&T Knitwear w/ Debbie Urbanski

Also, I’ll see you at Norwescon in Seattle, Apr 17-19. I’ll be reading and signing

TV rights have been optioned — more on that soon! I’m represented by Anna DeRoy and Olivia Burgher of WME.

International publishers: S&S purchased only North American rights. Contact my agent, Seth Fishman, VP of the Gernert Company.

Revelator

A Washington Post Book of the Year

Finalist for the Dragon Award and Locus Award

Paperback available now!

“Revelator is a thing of beauty, brutal in the vein of Cormac McCarthy, a novel in the Southern Gothic tradition that is fresh and deeply disturbing. ”
—New York Times

Finalist for the Dragon Award and the Locus Award.

A dark, gripping tale of a 1930’s family in the remote hills of the Smoky Mountains, their secret religion, and the daughter who turns her back on their mysterious god.

“An eerie and otherworldly tale laced with moonshine, Revelator questions the bonds of kin and challenges the ideas of power and divinity. A darkly intoxicating chiller.”–Booklist

Starred reviews in Kirkus and BookPage.

More about Revelator

The Album of Dr. Moreau

Just your standard genetically engineered boy band / locked-room murder mystery novella, fresh from tor.com publishing.

Finalist for the Edgar Award.

“Completely banana pants.”–Book Riot

“[Daryl Gregory] constructs a clever mash-up of H.G. Wells’s The Island of Doctor Moreau, a locked room mystery, and the boy band phenomenon in this zippy but complex tale… [A] quirky and entertaining twist on a classic.” – Publisher’s Weekly

“When the ending comes, it provides the perfect twist that is both unexpected and yet completely satisfying. The Album of Dr. Moreau will leave you wanting more.”–Mystery and Suspense Magazine

“Gregory deliberately and imaginatively breaks every one of T. S. Eliot’s “Rules of Detective Fiction,” with which he has prefaced this luminous novella.” – Booklist, starred review

Kindle / B&N Nook / Apple Books / ebooks.com / Google Play / Kobo
(it’s only $3.99, so why not?)

More about The Album of Dr. Moreau.