Katie Bernet, who lives in Dallas, Texas, is an award-winning creative director, is a long-standing member of the DFW Writers Workshop, and directed the 2025 DFW Writers Conference. Beth Is Dead is her debut novel and has been recognized as a New York Times and USA Today bestseller.
In Beth Is Dead, when Beth March is found dead in the woods on New Year’s Day, her sisters vow to uncover her murderer. But it doesn’t take the surviving sisters much digging to uncover motives each one of the March girls had for doing the unthinkable. Despite the growing suspicion within the family, it’s hard to know for sure if the crime was committed by someone close to home. After all, the March sisters were dragged into the spotlight months ago when their father published a controversial bestseller about his own daughters. Beth could have been killed by anyone. Beth’s perspective, told in flashback, unfolds next to Meg, Jo, and Amy’s increasingly fraught investigation as the tragedy threatens to rip the Marches apart.
When asked what contributed to the book landing on the New York Times bestseller list, Bernet said: “It took me 10 years and six manuscripts to get published. I think a few things finally made the difference for me, but most of all, Beth Is Dead has a compelling hook that’s very easy to pitch. With just a few words, my agent and I were able to explain the concept to editors. And now, it only takes a few words to grab readers.”
This high-concept pitch may have also been to the book’s advantage in its selection as an Indie Next pick, a Junior Library Guild Gold Standard selection, and the inaugural selection for Reese Witherspoon’s new Gen Z book club, Sunnie Reads. Bernet also believes it was to her advantage that her book released from a new Simon & Schuster imprint, Sarah Barley Books. “But those are things outside of my control. It’s always better to focus on aspects of the work that you have the power to change,” she said.
To other authors, she said, “I would not be a published author without my writing community. I’m a member of a workshop that meets for read and critique every week, and the people in that group have become my mentors, beta readers, and friends. If you’re interested in getting published at any level, find people who share your goal and can walk alongside you on the (very long) journey.”
E. J. Wenstrom believes in complicated heroes, horrifying monsters, purple hair dye and standing to the right on escalators so the left side can walk. She writes dark speculative fiction for adults and teens, including her new release, a young adult dystopian novel titled Departures (August 10, 2021). When she isn’t writing fiction, E. J. Wenstrom is a regular contributor to DIY MFA and BookRiot, and co-hosts the Fantasy+Girl Podcast. Learn more at her website.
