The House Built on Alligator Bones (Novel) set for publication on October 6, 2026 by Dutton Books / Penguin Random House
A woman fights to claim her inheritance—an alligator farming empire—and uncovers a cursed legacy in this Southern Gothic novel for fans of Sharp Objects and Starling House.
“The novel highlights humanity’s constant, ongoing quest to dominate land and animals—and the ways nature strikes back.”
Sophia Huneycutt was born and raised in Lakeland, Florida. Her short fiction has won the Porch Prize, judged by Kevin Wilson, and appeared in Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine, STORY, The Greensboro Review, Nashville Review, and elsewhere. Her story, “One Sunday the Possums Swarmed Central Florida,” is set to appear in an anthology of contemporary Florida writers co-edited by Kristen Arnett and P. Scott Cunningham, to be published by the University Press of Florida in 2027. She has received support from the de Groot Foundation, the Virginia Center for the Creative Arts, the Greater Columbus Arts Council, and the Ohio Arts Council. A Tin House alumna, she holds a BA in English literature from Davidson College and an MFA in creative writing from The Ohio State University. The House Built on Alligator Bones is her first novel.
Visit Sophia’s website: www.sophiahuneycutt.com
Find Sophia on Instagram: @sohuneycutt