Belladonna invites you into thirty-seven new worlds, each one resembling our own but somewhat twisted, often lovely, and always close. Within this curated collection, Bettinger artfully blurs the line between magical realism and narrative fiction.

Her characters act out buried impulses, budding desires, and tenderest shoots of hope. Her settings are laced with poetic prose grounded in earthen and apocalyptic metaphors, but with a structure and pace not found in traditional fiction. Each story is accompanied by illustrations from the author that compliment the deep emotion and shrewd efficiency of her storytelling.

From one of the most well-practiced voices in short format fiction, Autumn Bettinger's debut book returns to themes of haunting loss, broken romantic relationships, life saving friendships, motherhood, and what connections will remain at the end of the world.

My heart belongs to the stories Autumn included in the Myrtles & Milkweeds section…For me these are the stories that most represent the Autumn I know: complex, funny, insightful, and unhinged in the most endearing way. 

- Christina Hartman, from the introduction to Belladonna

112 pages
$15.99 USD / $20.99 CAN
ISBN: 978-1-967814-02-2
Pub date: 09/29/2026

Please consider preordering using a website that supports local bookstores such as: Bookshop.org

If you are local to Portland, and you have a favorite bookstore, calling them or going in to preorder it for you would be extra sweet for us. We love Powell’s Books, and Bold Coffee & Books, but any bookstore that you love is the best one.

Amazon is also an option.

However you preorder it, Thank you.