The Patron Saint of White Menageries
In her debut magical-realism collection The Patron Saint of White Menageries, Pushcart-nominated author Lauren T. Davila cracks Los Angeles open to reveal a kaleidoscope of unlikely heroines, talents, and dreams.
In a sticky diner, a waitress fits wisps of cloud into coffee mugs, trying to solve her patrons’ problems. A motherless girl defies her father’s rules, rubbing fish scales from her eyes and learning her mother’s half-remembered Spanish. Spectral ballerinas haunt alleys and dance studios, and red bumps rise on the arms of an assistant whose employer has been alive too long. The prophet Cassandra, exhausted from reincarnating and never being believed, tries one last time to escape her fate.
For lovers of White Cat, Black Dog and whoever haunts the Pacific Coast Highway, The Patron Saint of White Menageries is a guide to magical LA by one of its native daughters.
Additional information
| Classification | Fiction |
|---|---|
| Genre | Book Club, Contemporary, Fantasy, Horror, Literary Fiction, Science Fiction, Short Story Collection, Speculative, Upmarket |
| Age | Adult |
| Publisher | Independent |
| Imprint | Creature Publishing |
| Language(s) | English |
| Format(s) | eBook, Mass Market Paperback, Trade paperback |
| Author | Lauren T. Davila |
| Release Date | 1 September 2026 |
| Release Month | September Releases |
| Author Identity | BIPOC, Chronic Illness, Disabled |
| Content Rep | BIPOC, Chronic Illness, Disability, Neurodivergence |
About the Author
Lauren T. Davila is a Pushcart-nominated, Latina author, anthologist, and acquisitions editor.
Her debut gothic short story collection THE PATRON SAINT OF WHITE MENAGERIES is forthcoming from Creature Publishing in 2026.
She has edited multiple short story anthologies. including TO ROOT SOMEWHERE BEAUTIFUL: AN ANTHOLOGY OF RECLAMATION (Outland Entertainment 2024) and WHEN OTHER PEOPLE SAW US, THEY SAW THE DEAD (Haunt Publishing 2022)
Lauren has an MA in English from Claremont Graduate University and an MFA in Fiction Writing from George Mason University. Besides her personal creative work, she is the Acquisitions Editor at Inked In Gray Press and the Assistant Director at PocketMFA.
She lives in the greater Los Angeles area, where you can find her swimming, walking her golden retriever, and drinking one too many lattes. She is represented by Susan Velazquez Colmant at JABberwocky Literary.
