NAME; Jess Hagemann
CREATIVE FIELD: Author
WEBSITE: jesshagemann.com
AUTHOR LINKS:
Instagram: @jh.author
AUTHOR BIO:
Jess Hagemann’s recent work has appeared or is forthcoming in Beneath the Bluebonnets: Tales of Terror from Texas Women, Three Seasons of Winter, and Last Girls Club, among others.
Her debut novel Headcheese (2018) won an IPPY Award in Horror. Paste Magazine named her sophomore novel Mother-Eating, which marries Marie Antoinette and cults, one of the “Most-Anticipated Horror Books of 2025.”
Jess received her MFA from the Jack Kerouac School, and has been awarded a teaching fellowship at McNeese State University as well as a writing residency at Dear Butte. She lives in Austin. More at www.jesshagemann.com.
INTERVIEW
What got you into horror to begin with – what’s your core Horror memory?
Walking into the living room, age nine, while the langoliers consumed the world in the 1995 ABC miniseries version of Stephen King’s short story.
Do you have a favourite horror subgenre (or more than one) and if so, what is it? What/Who are your favourite books/films/podcasts/artists/creatives working in that subgenre?
Transgressive horror. Faves include Dennis Cooper’s The Sluts and Poppy Z. Brite’s Exquisite Corpse.
What is the horror project of your heart – perhaps something you’ve already got out there, something you’re working on now, or something you’d like to do?
I’m working on a movie novelization right now (adapting a horror film for the page) and I’d love to do more projects like this one, especially by female horror filmmakers.
Which 5 horror books can you not stop thinking about, or have influenced you most in some way? (If not books, you can pick 5 films, 5 pieces of art, 5 songs… or mix & match!)
Last House on Needless Street (Catriona Ward),
Stonewords (Pam Conrad),
Needful Things (Stephen King),
House of Leaves (Mark Z. Danielewski),
Survivor (Chuck Palahniuk)
If you had to describe the tones and themes of your own work in terms of movies, books, songs, or art, what would you choose and why?
A mix of church songs (but slowed down and warped in minor key) and Bosch’s triptych In the Garden of Earthly Delights
Introduce us to something you’ve created, and pitch it to the audience!
My sophomore novel Mother-Eating is a modern retelling of Marie Antoinette’s reign as the queen of France, set in Austin, Texas.
Instead of marrying her daughter off to King Louis, Resa Habsburg sells Mary Toni to a pseudo-religious torture-happy sex cult in exchange for a TV contract. Get it here.