Books will be available for purchase

This event is co-sponsored by The Telling Room, the Maine Writers and Publishers Association.

About the event

Mo will read from his new book Where the Cryptids Fled and take part in a conversation with the audience.  The conversation will be led by local teacher and author, Chris Packard.

About the book

Join Young Emerging Author Mo Drammeh for a reading from his debut novel, Where the Cryptids Fled, followed by a conversation with Mo and author Chris Packard. Drammeh wrote and published his novel during his time with The Telling Room’s Young Emerging Authors Fellowship; a year-long afterschool program where young writers receive mentorship and support as they write, revise, and publish a full-length work.

In Where the Cryptids Fled, Cassie Byrne and Jess Wakefield are reporters, barely scraping by enough to make a living because of their queer relationship. Struggling to live in a world that maligns them, they discover something never seen before: evidence of cryptids, such as Mothman, the Jersey Devil and a few new ones, far too horrific to have ever been named. When they publish it, their lives are irrevocably set on a new course, one that tests their relationship as Cassie vies for success at any cost and Jess's faith in her partner is tested. A cautionary tale, Where The Cryptids Fled interrogates validity: who is valid, and why? Who determines what identities are wrong and right? And most of all, when you are determined to be invalid, when society has rejected you, what do you do?

About Mo

Mo Drammeh grew up in Bangor, Maine, where he has lived all of his life. He recently graduated from Bangor High School and is currently a freshman at the University of Maine Orono. In 2022, Mo won the 2022 Crime Flash Competition from the Maine Writers & Publishers Alliance, and was named among Maine Magazine's Mainers of The Year for his writing. Mo is a 2023 Macklin Fellow and was awarded full university tuition for his project at the Maine State Science Fair. He plans to continue writing into the foreseeable future and is currently working on the first installment of a planned
superhero fantasy and high fantasy trilogy.

Praise for the book

“Where the Cryptids Fled is a powerful, thought-provoking novel penned by an extremely talented young man. Mo Drammeh is an up and coming writer to follow.”
— Bruce Robert Coffin, award-winning author of the Detective Byron mysteries

“Part urban fantasy and part social justice horror, Where the Cryptids Fled warns against the deeply human consequences of inhuman systems. I felt everything: Drammeh’s writing drew as many laughs as it did gasps. Readers can expect a novella that may feel like a fast read, rife with blood, guts, and beauty, but its themes will linger, just like the mysterious blood that teems beneath the floorboards of Cassandra and Jess’s home.”
— Caitlin Wahrer, Edgar Award-nominated author of The Damage