Weird Wilderness: A Cryptid Bestiary

by Lisa Mangum, Jessica Guernsey, C.L. Fors

You may not have ever seen them, but you know Bigfoot, Mothman, chupacabras, the Jersey Devil, and Nessie, the Loch Ness Monster. Cryptids exist everywhere around the world on land, in the air, and under the water. Some creatures are recent discoveries; others date back centuries. But where did they come from? What is their hidden history?
Collected in this anthology are twenty short stories featuring a wide variety of cryptids as well as the cryptozoologists who discover them, hunt them, study them, or shelter them. Alongside the classic creatures of legend and lore are pixies, aliens, lizard-men, and dopplegängers—plus a few original and newly discovered cryptids that will capture your curiosity. With genres ranging from fantasy and science fiction to historical fiction and romance, there is something for everyone to enjoy. As an added twist, each story utilizes at least one form of epistolary writing to help tell the story, including text messages, podcast interviews, newspaper articles, and journal entries.
So, tune in to Bigfoot’s podcast, write a love letter to Nessie, and then pick up a pair of tickets to the grand opening of the Cryptid Zoo. The world around us is full of the weird and the wonderful, and the creatures that were once long hidden are ready to come out of the woods.
Weird A Cryptid Bestiary is the tenth anthology edited by Lisa Mangum and Jessica Guernsey and published by WordFire Press. Profits support the various endowment and scholarship funds for Superstars Writing Seminars.

314 pages, Kindle Edition

Published February 4, 2025

About the author

Lisa Mangum has loved and worked with books ever since elementary school, when she volunteered at the school library during recess. Her first paying job was shelving books at the Sandy Library. She worked for five years at Waldenbooks while she attended the University of Utah, graduating with honors with a degree in English. An avid reader of all genres, she has worked in the publishing department for Deseret Book since 1997.
Besides books, Lisa loves movies, sunsets, spending time with her family, trips to Disneyland, and vanilla ice cream topped with fresh raspberries. She lives in Taylorsville, Utah, with her husband, Tracy. She is the author of the Hourglass Door trilogy and After Hello.