For Librarians
Thread Traveller is a Kirkus-starred, CANREADS-finalist debut novel of midlife transformation — perfect for adult collections, book clubs, and Women's Fiction shelves.
Title: Thread Traveller
Author: Annabel Youens
Publisher: Salt Line Press
Pub Date: October 14, 2025
256 Pages
Available through: Ingram Spark, Overdrive and Bibliotheca (cloudLibrary)
Formats & ISBNs:
Hardback 978-1-0695122-3-9
Softcover 978-1-0695122-0-8
E-Book 978-1-0695122-1-5
Audiobook 978-1-0695122-2-2
Genre: Upmarket Women’s Fiction / Speculative & Literary Fiction
Themes: Midlife reinvention, found-family, identity, community, quiet resistance.
ABOUT THE BOOK
What if midlife isn't where it ends — but where the magic begins?
⭐ A 2026 CANREADS Award Finalist in Women's Fiction
⭐ Named one of Kirkus Reviews' Best Indie Books of 2025
"A strong debut with compelling characters that passionately advocates for community, nature, and found family." — Kirkus Reviews (Starred Review)
"Masterful worldbuilding... tragic and harrowing, yet undeniably hopeful." — CanReads
Thread Traveller was featured at the PLA 2026 in Minneapolis, part of the IngramSpark showcase.
August Monk awakens naked in a field of pulsing red mushrooms, her feet tingling with voices she shouldn't be able to hear. One moment she was touring Britain's oldest brewery — the next, she's in a medieval world where women brew beer, commune with sentient fungal networks, and harbor dangerous secrets.
Taken in by Margaret, a midwife protecting forbidden feminine wisdom from a zealous priest, August discovers what her body has been trying to tell her: the change isn't decline. It's a doorway. Her marriage is fracturing. Her company is failing. Her perimenopausal body is becoming something else entirely. But here, grounded by mushroom networks that whisper of balance and rebirth, she's finally standing still.
When religious persecution threatens to destroy Margaret's community — and the ancient knowledge they protect — August faces an impossible choice: fight for her found family or find her way home.
In the vein of Margaret Atwood and Ursula K. Le Guin — for readers who loved The Midnight Library, Circe, and Piranesi — Thread Traveller is a luminous debut about parallel realities, midlife as portal, and the power women gain at the age they're told they've lost value.
Invite Annabel To Your Library
Annabel offers a community education event for libraries, called “Beer, Books & Belonging: How Women Brewers Were Written Out Of History.”
Annabel’s hour-long talk (virtual or in person) offers:
The Hidden History (15 min): Who were these women brewers? How did they lose their trade? Share historical research with visuals
From History to Fiction (10 min): Talk about the creative process of discovering this story at Britain's oldest brewery and transforming it into speculative fiction
Reading (10 min): A key passage from Thread Traveller showing how this history lives in the novel
Q&A & Book Signing (20-25 min): Discussion with audience.
AUTHOR BIO
Annabel Youens writes mythic fiction where the change is the magic. Thread Traveller — a Kirkus Best Indie Book of 2025 and 2026 CANREADS Award Finalist — is her debut novel, written at 47 after twenty years building tech companies. She was employee #11 at Abebooks.com and co-founded two global startups before returning to her first love: storytelling. She lives on Vancouver Island and writes a Substack called Saved by the Spell on midlife, motherhood, and mushrooms.
AUTHOR EVENTS & PROGRAMMING
Annabel is available for:
Virtual or in-person author talks
Book club visits
Library panel discussions or creative writing Q&As
To schedule a visit grab a time to chat or email
Add Thread Traveller To Your Collection
Available through Ingram Spark, Overdrive, and Bibliotheca / cloudLibrary. Hardback, softcover, ebook, and audiobook editions all in distribution.