Today is the day! Piñata by Leopoldo Gout released on March 14, 2023, and it is one of my most anticipated horror reads of 2023. This one is perfect for fans of folk horror, and I am so excited to be able to share my excitement for this one with you all. Check out the book synopsis below and be sure to learn more about Leopoldo Gout!

Piñata by Leopoldo Gout

A Head Full of Ghosts meets Hereditary in Piñata, a terrifying possession tale by author and artist Leopoldo Gout.

Carmen Sanchez is back in her home country of Mexico, overseeing the renovation of an ancient cathedral into a boutique hotel. Her teen daughters, Izel and Luna, are with her for the summer, and left to fill their afternoons unsupervised in a foreign city.

The locals treat the Sanchez women like outsiders, while Carmen’s contractors openly defy and sabotage her work. After a disastrous accident at the construction site nearly injures Luna, Carmen’s had enough. They’re leaving.

Back in New York, Luna begins acting strange, and only Izel notices the chilling changes happening to her younger sister. But it might be too late for the Sanchez family to escape what’s been awakened…

Piñata is a bone-chilling story about how the sinister repercussions of our past can return to haunt us.

Goodreads Synopsis

About Leopoldo Gout

Leopoldo Gout is a visual artist, award-winning author, filmmaker and producer who believes that the arts can be a powerful driver of social change.

Born in Mexico City, Leopoldo graduated from Central Saint Martins School of Art in London and lives in New York where he has a has a thriving studio. Leopoldo has written, packaged, published and developed books for more than a decade, both under his own name with several major publishers (Genius, Ghost Radio) and published other writers under his own imprint with Atria / Simon & Schuster: Leopoldo & Co (Dahlia Black, The Eyes of the Queen). He also was co-president of the James Patterson Entertainment company for many years while producing films and television. Various new books are slated for publication in 2020 and beyond, including a major memoir from the extraordinary Judge Rosemary Aquilina (Audible / Hello Sunshine); a non-fiction book written by INTEL’s former #1 Futurist, Brian David Johnson: FutureYOU (Harper Collins) and he recently closed another two-book deal of his own with major publisher Macmillan for their new horror imprint, Nightfire.

Gout and his brother award winning writer director EVERARDO GOUT are show-runners of AMERICAN JESUS, from Netflix / Mark Millar. He is the creator and writer of NO MAN’S LAND (Starz), and SPYMASTERS (Madison Welles Media). Gout is developing a Pulitzer Prize finalist book IN THE DISTANCE into a film with the Larrain Brothers. Along with actor Edgar Ramirez, he optioned “IT WOULD BE NIGHT IN CARACAS. He has a premium documentary series: FILTHY RICH in post-production along with Radical Media & Joe Berlinger.

Gout was the originating producer on the Oscar-nominated, MOLLY’S GAME, a project that he worked from book to screen. Other producer credits include INSTINCT (CBS), ZOO (CBS), MIDDLE SCHOOL: The Worst Years of My (Participant Media and LIONSGATE) and Everardo Gout’s directorial debut DAYS OF GRACE which debuted at the Cannes Film Festival and won over 20 awards internationally.

Currently, Gout is producing Award winning author Marlon James’ original debut for television: GET MILLIE BLACK (Channel 4 & HBO). Leopoldo along with Radical Media won the Critics Choice Award for Filthy Rich a documentary series on Netflix. Previously Leopoldo was a partner, writer and director at Curious Pictures in NYC. Leopoldo works as a visual artist at his studio in NYC and is a fellow at the Center for Science and the Imagination at ASU. Leopoldo Gout is represented by Joe Cohen & Nick Lafferty / CAA

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