Out Now: Slavic Supernatural

Something Slavic this way comes… or, better said, it’s already here!

Yes, our first anthology of short speculative fiction, inspired by Slavic folklore and mythology, Slavic Supernatural, is now available in both ebook and paperback format, and is waiting for you to pick it up.

It collects eleven tales of death, winter, seasonal changes, ecological musings, revenge, obscure rituals, old gods, and adventure. And quite appropriately, here in the Shtriga HQ in Croatia, we currently have a new cold wave with inland blizzards and bora storms on the coast. It’s the perfect reminder we’re still in Morana’s domain, and this book will serve nicely for a moment of relaxing with a warm cup of tea or coffee, and a fuzzy blanket.

Get the paperback at your preferred Amazon market or the ebook at your favorite retailer. Add the book on Goodreads or The Storygraph.

Big thanks to everyone for supporting our small pub house, the writers for trusting us with their stories, Karmen Fodrek from the podcast Mythoslavic for Foreword, and of course, Antonio Filipović for his awesome cover art.

About the anthology

Darkness and light, grief and hope, gods and humans mingle on these pages as they take you on the supernatural journey of a lifetime.

As you travel through the Slavic lands of magic and mayhem, take special care—beware of the rusalka and of the creatures lurking in the woods, don’t mess with the thing sleeping in the cave, and whatever you do, don’t cross the goddess Morana… or your frozen corpse will be found, come next spring.

Dive into these eleven stories of seasonal changes, life, and Slavic wonder!

Cover Reveal: Slavic Supernatural

Something Slavic this way comes…

And it’s the cover reveal of our first anthology! It’s beautiful, eerie, and dark, just like the stories in the book. Can you guess which Slavic goddess was the inspiration behind it?

The cover was illustrated and designed by the talented Antonio Filipović, with whom we have a great collaboration. We love his eye for detail, exploration of the subject matter and symbolism (just look at the old hands!), and the way he can convey the atmosphere from the book into the visual medium. We’re very grateful for his work.

And what can you expect from the anthology? From the past to the future, across various Slavic cultures and throughout several European regions, this anthology brings you short speculative fiction stories inspired by Slavic folklore and mythology.

Darkness and light, grief and hope, gods and humans mingle on these pages as they take you on the supernatural journey of a lifetime.

As you travel through the Slavic lands of magic and mayhem, take special care—beware of the rusalka and of the creatures lurking in the woods, don’t mess with the thing sleeping in the cave, and whatever you do, don’t cross the goddess Morana… or your frozen corpse will be found, come next spring.

Dive into these eleven stories of seasonal changes, life, and Slavic wonder by pre-ordering the ebook. Book, both in ebook and paperback form, will be released on 28th of February.

The book features stories by: Ivan Botica, Lidiana Bunda, Greg Gajek, Ivana Geček, Robert Norok, Srebrenka Peregrin, Petra Rapaić, Josh Reynolds, Miha Trochael, Petra Valković, Laura J. Veligor. Foreword written by Karmen Fodrek, host of Mythoslavic podcast.

Edited by Vesna Kurilić and Antonija Mežnarić.

Od kolijevke pa do groba – sad i u mekom uvezu

Zadnji dan 2022. obilježili smo tako što nam je izašao i meki uvez romana mračne urbane fantastike Od kolijevke pa do groba autorice Antonije Mežnarić. Roman je već od 20. 12. dostupan kao e-knjiga, a sada ga mogu nabaviti i oni koji više preferiraju fizički format izravno s webknjizara.hr. Time zaključujemo objave iz 2022. godine i spremamo se za 2023. s novim, fantastičnim knjigama!

Želimo svima sretnu 2023. godinu, punu knjiga i dobrih priča.

Teško je raditi s mladima, a još teže kad ti učenici skrivaju dijelove tijela pod krevetom.

Nanina odgovornost za nadzor nad tinejdžerima koji moraju skrivati svoju magičnu prirodu od ostatka Rijeke narast će do pucanja, baš kao i njena glavobolja, kad se pred nju postavi nezahvalan zadatak – otkriti ne samo kome pripadaju udovi pronađeni pod čempresima, već i tko iz sjene prijeti njenim štićenicima. I to sve treba riješiti tako da ljudi i dalje ostanu u bezbrižnom neznanju o tome da bića poput krsnika, štriga i slavenskih bogova nisu samo dio folklora. 

Naravno, ako se ti isti štićenici prvo međusobno ne zakrve… ili ih Nana ne defenestrira.

Tajne, laži i smrtonosna prošlost miješaju se na riječkom brdu u ovom romanu mračne urbane fantastike s elementima krimića i horora, inspiriranim hrvatskim narodnim pričama.

Roman je objavljen uz potporu Grada Rijeke.

E-knjiga dostupna na: Apple Books, Kobo, Scribd i ostalim mjestima

Prvo poglavlje dostupno za beplatno čitanje ovdje.

Uskoro: Od kolijevke pa do groba Antonije Mežnarić

Izuzetno smo uzbuđeni što možemo najaviti da nam do kraja prosinca 2022. izlazi nova knjiga Antonije Mežnarić! Riječ je o romanu mračne urbane fantastike s elementima horora i krimića Od kolijevke pa do groba u kojoj se isprepliću užasi odgajanja mladih generacija sa stravama iz narodnih predaja.

Ovu odličnu naslovnicu napravio je Antonio Filipović koji je već surađivao s nama na Antonijinoj horor noveli It Eats Us From the Inside.

A što nas to očekuje iza naslovnice?

Teško je raditi s mladima, a još teže kad ti učenici skrivaju dijelove tijela pod krevetom.

Nanina odgovornost za nadzor nad tinejdžerima koji moraju skrivati svoju magičnu prirodu od ostatka Rijeke narast će do pucanja, baš kao i njena glavobolja, kad se pred nju postavi nezahvalan zadatak – otkriti ne samo kome pripadaju udovi pronađeni pod čempresima, već i tko iz sjene prijeti njenim štićenicima. I to sve treba riješiti tako da ljudi i dalje ostanu u bezbrižnom neznanju o tome da bića poput krsnika, štriga i slavenskih bogova nisu samo dio folklora. 

Naravno, ako se ti isti štićenici prvo međusobno ne zakrve… ili ih Nana ne defenestrira.

Prvo poglavlje dostupno je za čitanje! Možete skinuti ogledni primjerak u epub, mobi i pdf formatu.

Eknjigu možete prednaručiti na platformi Kobo prateći ovaj link. Za informacije o mekom uvezu, točan datum objave i kako ga naručiti, pratite naš web ili društvene mreže Facebook, Instagram i Twitter @shtrigabooks.

Knjiga je objavljena uz potporu Grada Rijeke!

New Release: Girls Across Worlds

The girls are back with their newest adventure!

This one takes our redhead lesbian dopplegänger lovers on a secretive mission across the multiverse!

Lina & Karol have to face their colleagues as vowbreakers, forced to work with them on a search for a mystery person, hiding somewhere among the numerous worlds. Worst of all is that they didn’t even have the time to process the recent murderous events that took place in Karol’s family home. And now it seems that one of them has some… doubts about their possible future.

Secrets, lies, conspiracies, betrayals, heartbreak, and so much more awaits you in this newest installment of the sapphic retrofuturistic mystery series Ranger Paraversum. Girls Across Worlds is now available wherever you get your ebooks.

Slavic Supernatural Story Lineup

Do you like fantasy inspired by Slavic folklore and mythology? Stories about Morana, the magical shapeshifting krsniks, the mysterious woodland leshy or the sinister rusalka?

If you do, we’ll soon have a book worth checking out! Our first anthology has all that, and more, collected in 11 fresh stories suffused with magic and Slavic culture.

We’re bringing you Slavic Supernatural: An Anthology of Slavic-Inspired Speculative Fiction, featuring the following stories:

  • Once Upon a Winter by Ivan Botica
  • Traveling Spring by Lidiana Bunda
  • Where the Birch Trees Sing by Greg Gajek
  • The Gentleman Hat by Ivana Geček
  • Kresnik and Zlatorog by Robert Norok
  • Out of Linden and Oak They Made You by Srebrenka Peregrin
  • Hunting Down the Unholy by Petra Rapaić
  • The Deep Woods by Josh Reynolds
  • From the Swamps by Miha Trochael
  • Morana’s Song by Petra Valković
  • Death Will See by Laura J. Veligor

Keep an eye on this space and our social media (@shtrigabooks) for future information about the pub date, the upcoming cover reveal, for a chance to meet our awesome authors and to learn more about their story inspirations!

The anthology is edited by Antonija Mežnarić and Vesna Kurilić.

New Release Alert That Will Eat You Alive

It Eats Us From the Inside by Antonija Mežnarić is now out in the world! This aquatic horror novella with a pinch of eco horror and Slavic folk horror is a genre mix about changes, ecological disasters, parental estrangement, stubbornness, small towns, queer love, and everything that eats ut as. It’s sad, disgusting, claustrophobic, and bittersweet. And it awaits you to take it with you to the beach to read while sunbathing in the scorching sun.
Get the ebook wherever you like to get your ebooks. The paperback is available on Amazon.

The cover is made by amazing Antonio Filipović, who read it and said: slimy things are a must!

The only reason Doris agreed to go back to her hometown on the Northern Adriatic coast was her wife’s insistence to go and visit her father, house-ridden and slowly dying from a mysterious illness that eats at him from the inside.

But under the surface of the family reunion lie old tales and hidden regret, while from the sea comes a creeping threat to the town and beyond, slowly but surely spreading farther from the coast.

Taken at the tide of change, nothing and no one will stay the same.

Cover Reveal: Girls Across World

Lina and Karol continue their adventure in the multiverse! And Korina Hunjak continue to impress us with their gorgeous covers. The face for the fourth installment of our queer retrofuturistic mystery romance series Ranger Paraversum is here.

What awaits us in the fourth book?

It’s early 1946, the Cartographer chapter of the City of Rijeka is in turmoil, and the worlds of the known paraversum are under threat.

As their bosses combine their resources to stop the elusive, mysterious chapter that’s taking out others one by one, the girls find themselves at the forefront of a clandestine task force faced with a new conundrum…

How do you find someone when you don’t even know who they are?

Out October 13, 2022!

You can pre-order the book now at this link. And if you didn’t yet get the chance, check out the first book in the series, Johnny’s Girls, available in paperback and ebook!

Folk horror, romantika i urbana fantastika: Shtriga na SFeraKonu 2022!

Brojimo sitno do prve ovogodišnje domaće konvencije fantastike – SFeraKona 2022. – koji će se održati od 13. do 15. svibnja 2022. na zagrebačkom FER-u. S obzirom da Shtriga ove godine po prvi put sudjeluje u programu, odlučili smo vam predstaviti neke od naših autora, u dijalogu sa svojim urednicama, kroz sva tri dana konvencije.

Naši će autori s posjetiteljima i čitateljima podijeliti svoje dugogodišnje iskustvo u raznim podžanrova: folk horroru, romantičnoj fantastici i urban fantasyju, te će biti dostupni i za potpisivanje knjiga!

U petak – na Petak trinaesti, ni manje ni više! – u 19h u prostoriji A-201 u točki “Tradicija straha: folk horror s autoricom Antonijom Mežnarić” saznajte sve o folk horroru, pogotovo onom na našim krajevima.

Jeste li slušali krvave narodne priče kad ste bili mali? Palili krijesove, prisustvovali folklornim ritualima kojima se tjera zima, a priziva proljeće? Folk horror crpi inspiraciju iz tradicije, ali ne gleda je kroz ružičaste naočale, nego stisnutog daha očekuje ono najgore. Pridružite nam se na razgovoru s autoricom folk horrora Antonijom Mežnarić i njenom urednicom Vesnom Kurilić, na kojem će pričati o ovome podžanru, slavenskom folkloru kao izvoru strave i užasa, te otkriti možda pokoju preporuku za čitanje i gledanje.

U niskom startu za veliko finale Eurovizije, kojem se i naši autori vesele, – Shtrigin program nastavljamo u subotu u 14h, u Sivoj sobi, točkom “Romantika u spekulativnoj fikciji s autoricom Vesnom Kurilić”.

Romantični zapleti idu ruku pod ruku sa spekulativnom fikcijom još otkako postoje i jedni i drugi. Od antičkih mitova preko AO3, višetomnih urban fantasy serijala i modrokožih aliena, pa sve do naše male, cvatuće, domaće žanrovske scene, presuda je jasna: oboje je bolje! O tome kako i zašto čitati i pisati romantične podžanrove, što sve pisci romantičnih zapleta mogu ponuditi čitateljima i fanovima, te koje su najčešće “nevidljive” greške kad se bacimo naglavačke s balkona kuće Capuleti direktno među zvijezde, razgovarat će Vesna Kurilić, autorica serijala Ranger Paraversum, i njena urednica, Antonija Mežnarić.

Sferakonski vikend završavamo u velikom stilu, u nedjelju u 13h u dvorani D1, točkom “Urbana fantastika od New Yorka do Rijeke: razgovor s autorom Igorom Rendićem”.

Kako od ljubitelja urbane fantastike nastane pisac iste? Ima li mjesta za jednu malu Rijeku na svjetskoj karti slavnih, velikih, magičnih gradova? Svi putevi možda vode u Rim, ali na ovom SFeraKonu, višestruko nagrađivani autor Igor Rendić, u razgovoru sa svojom nakladnicom, odvest će vas na magično putovanje tajnim urbanim sredinama i putem preporučiti nove knjige za vaš TBR.

Pridružite nam se na SFeraKonu, te u susretima s našim autorima iz prve ruke otkrijte kako nastaje fantastika!

Vidimo se u Zagrebu!


Bacite oko na cjelokupan, bogat ovogodišnji program SFeraKona 2022. – i naći ćete još puno zabavnog programa, pogotovo iz književnosti! Raspored je podložan promjenama od strane organizatora.

A Cover Reveal That Will Eat at You

As promised, today we’re sharing with you the cover for our upcoming summer release: a horror novella of aquatic dread and eco disasters, It Eats Us From the Inside by Antonija Mežnarić.

Are you ready?

This suffocatingly great cover was made by Antonio Filipović. He’s an illustrator and graphic design artist, and as a part of the collaboration with our local Academy of Applied Arts in Rijeka, he’s previously worked on the illustrations for a story in the Mistress of Geese collection. We’re happy that we got him to work on Antonija’s newest book, too!

The only reason Doris agreed to go back to her hometown on the Northern Adriatic coast was her wife’s insistence to go and visit her father, house-ridden and slowly dying from a mysterious illness that eats at him from the inside.

But under the surface of the family reunion lie old tales and hidden regret, while from the sea comes a creeping threat to the town and beyond, slowly but surely spreading farther from the coast.

Taken at the tide of change, nothing and no one will stay the same.

It Eats Us From the Inside will be out on June 23rd, 2022, in ebook and paperback.

Pre-order links and more info coming soon.

You can add it on Goodreads and The Storygraph.