Now that the ties and novelty lamps are returned, the trees recycled into useful if less sparkly mulch, and holiday egg nog has been sworn off forever, yet again, we at Orbit want to let you know what we’ve got in store for you in the coming months — in particular, about two new writers about whom you have probably already heard much — and, will be hearing more.

Our January debut, Mr. Shivers (US/UK), by Robert Jackson Bennett, should be on its way to bookstores even as you read this. In a starred review, Publishers Weekly noted that it reads “like a collaboration between Stephen King and John Steinbeck” and that he makes “dark fantasy feel like gritty realism, achieving a rare laconic eloquence that will captivate horror readers hungry for new voices.” Visit Mistershivers.com, and re-visit some of Robert’s past entries on the Orbit blog, where he readily displays his talent for pulling the rug out from under the feet of daily existence.

Then we’ll be bringing you N.K. Jemisin’s first novel, The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms [US February/UK April]. Romantic Times, giving it four and a half stars, calls it “an astonishing debut novel”, Kirkus Reviews has judged it “offbeat and engaging”, and Publishers Weekly, in its starred review, “a complex, edge-of-your-seat story with plenty of funny, scary, and bittersweet twists.” Jemisin’s debut Orbit blog post“Power and Privilege in Fantasy” is also not to be missed — and that you can read, right now. (Seriously. Now.)