DAW Books acquires World English rights for THOUGHTS BE BLOODY, a queer and trans reimagining of Shakespeare’s Hamlet, if Hamlet took place at a magic school.

In THOUGHTS BE BLOODY by Auden Patrick,  Horatio Bithersea has only ever felt safe at Elsinore, where his magic is not a threat, and he can freely live his life as a trans man. But his fragile peace is shaken when he finds himself and his closest friend, Carson Hamlett, bound up in a curse, laid upon him by the ghost of Hamlett’s murdered father: avenge his death by destroying Elsinore, or the ghost will drive him mad. Now Horatio has to choose: his own sanity, or the place that has kept him sane.

Of the acquisition, Executive Editor Navah Wolfe says “I was drawn into this world from the first page, and it still hasn’t released its hold on me.”

Featuring the eerie, nonlinear style of Jeff Vandermeer and the dark reimaginings of S.T. Gibson, the writing in this book is knife-sharp, and the characters grab you and never let go. THOUGHTS BE BLOODY will be released early in 2026.