Today we are very excited to share an interview with Author Kelly McWilliams (NO ONE LEAVES THE MANOR)!
Meet the Author: Kelly McWilliams
Kelly McWilliams is the mixed race author of Agnes at the End of the World and Mirror Girls. Her work blends horror, history, and girlhood into stories sharp enough to cut. She lives in Seattle, where she always feeds the birds, just in case they’re keeping track. You can connect with her at kellymcwilliamsauthor.com.
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About the Book: NO ONE LEAVES THE MANOR
A deliciously twisted, fast-paced YA horror, where debutante dreams become bloody nightmares—perfect for fans of House of Hollow and Their Vicious Games.
It’s 1921, and Mrs. Caroline Reginald Kane, the last surviving descendant of a family of oil barons, has invited four young debutantes to visit her at Greystone Manor. There, they’ll compete for the ultimate prize: to become heir to her unspeakably vast fortune.
But only one girl can win.
And the manor is watching.
Dorothea is a thief, and the best liar in the American Northeast. Her mother vanished at Greystone years ago, and she’s determined to find out why—so long as no one uncovers her secrets first.
Vaughn isn’t crazy. She was born for this life—and she won’t let anyone come between her and the fortune she deserves.
Birdie doesn’t know why she’s been invited, but she believes everything happens for a reason…and that reason just might be divine.
Elspeth is called “pretty as a peach, dim as a doorknob.” But she sees things that the others can’t: whispering birds, shifting doors, and a language that should never be spoken.
And there’s something else hidden behind these walls. Something sinister.
It doesn’t plan to let them leave alive.
~Author Chat~
YABC: What inspired you to write this book?
I’ve always wanted to write a true haunted house novel—and last year, I decided it was finally time to follow this dream. The challenge was incorporating my main focal point as an author: white passing/white presenting and mixed-race stories. I particularly like for these stories to feel true to history. One of the main characters, Dorothea Williams, became my entry point. Her story is loosely based on the history of Anita Hemings, who passed for white to attend Vassar in 1893. Subsequently, Hemings was “discovered” by her roommate, whose father investigated her past. I decided to take the bones of that horrific situation and flesh them out with a classic haunted house tale. During the inspiration phase, I pitched the book to myself as Get Out meets Shirley Jackson.
YABC: What research did you do to write this book?
I poured over advertisements from the 1920s. It’s a fascinating way to understand what people felt, feared, and desired at a particular moment. Ideas about gender, race, and politics are deeply encoded in ads, too.
YABC: What can readers expect to find in your books?
Mixed race or white presenting and white passing characters. This was the representation I felt starved for as a young person, so I’ve made it my mission to tell as many stories about people who look like me as I can. We, too, are part of the diaspora!
YABC: Which was the most difficult or emotional scene to narrate?
My daughter was diagnosed with dyslexia the year before I wrote the novel. Some of Elspeth’s experiences are drawn from her life. When Elspeth confronts the monster behind the haunted house, using everything she’s learned about ancient languages—well, that’s the scene that got me. Like Elspeth, my daughter has grown into a great reader and decoder of language. It felt like a very full circle moment.
YABC: What is your favorite snack when writing?
Is coffee a snack? Because of prior bad experiences, I try not to eat near my keyboard, but I usually have a cup of coffee nearby. (But not too near!)
YABC: If you could time travel what would you want to see?
The Jim Crow South. In many ways, it has defined our experience as Black Americans in this country. Some even say Jim Crow never left. There’s so much to learn from the textures of that time. I’d love to visit my great-grandmother there and hear everything she learned, heard, and saw.
YABC: What other age group would you consider writing for?
Grown folks! My adult debut, AMERICAN NIGHTMARE, is coming out from Crown/PRH on September 15, 2026. Inspired by the life of a real white-passing spy, it tells his story as he confronts Jim Crow, investigating murders in the Deep South on behalf of the NAACP.
YABC: What do you do when you procrastinate?
Particularly while writing MANOR, I played the phone game, WINGSPAN! It’s based on a board game that features all the beautiful species of birds from all over the world. Because MANOR is also very much about birds—the villain collects them—I found it inspiring, too. Just one more game, I’d say. One more game….
YABC: What is your favorite writing space or routine?
I like to get my writing out of the way first thing in the morning, if I can. But that’s just the physical aspect. When I’m working on a novel, in a spiritual sense I’m always working on it—I live inside the story like a snow globe. It’s very all-consuming and I love that about the work. You don’t just get to create a world…you also get to live in it. This is why I always tell writers, when they’re trying to choose a subject to write about, to consider the question: Could you live in this story for a year or more? If the answer’s no, avoid at all costs!
YABC: Is there an organization or cause that is close to your heart?
I volunteer with an organization called Lasagna Love. We make lasagnas for any family that requests them. I love how human that is—our natural impulse to feed people something warm and good. Everyone should check them out! It’s an easy way to spread love—and to practice your lasagna-making skills. And this might sound wild, but making lasagna is a lot like writing a book. You try your best with every layer, but only the reader will know how it tastes!
Title: NO ONE LEAVES THE MANOR
Author: Kelly McWilliams
Release Date: 7/14/26
Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Genre: YA horror
Age Range: 14 and up
