State University of New York at Fredonia Department of English Adjunct Lecturer Rebecca Cuthbert teamed with 2018 graduate Dakota Marquardt to publish their inaugural children’s book.

“Down in the Dark Deep Where Puddlers Dwell” was released Nov. 12 through Malediction Marquardt, who earned a B.F.A. Visual Arts and New Media: Animation and Illustration, was a student in Ms. Cuthbert’s WRTG 260: Introduction to Creative Writing.

The two stayed in touch via social media, and when Cuthbert and AEA Press publisher Jason McCord needed an illustrator who “could do spooky,” Marquardt was the first artist who came to mind.

Written in second-person narration so the reader and the read-to can participate in the eerie fun, “Puddlers” charts their journey down into the dark deep, where scary things await – but can be escaped, with quick feet and smart thinking. “Puddlers” is the first of six children’s books the pair will be putting out under the Malediction imprint of AEA Press.

Cuthbert and Marquardt are already at work on their 2025 title, “High Up on Witch Mountain,” which will be released in the fall. For more information, people can visit https://www.aeapress.com/