Dust jacket and interior illustrations by Jon Foster

We're pleased to be releasing Paolo Bacigalupi's newest novel—a zombie thriller for younger readers—as his most affordable Signed, Limited edition yet, with a full-color dust jacket and two full-color plates by Jon Foster.

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As winner of the Hugo, the Michael L. Printz Award, and many other honors, author Paolo Bacigalupi has built a reputation for crafting deft, fully-realized futures for both adult and young adult audiences with novels like The Windup Girl and Ship Breaker. Now, he expands his extraordinary range even further. Full of action, humor, and hijinks galore, Zombie Baseball Beatdown delivers exactly what the title promises, combining two of America’s favorite pastimes: sports and zombie-fighting.

Best friends Rabi, Miguel, and Joe live near an Iowa beef packing plant with a history of questionable practices. But things go from questionable to apocalyptic fast when the factory proves the source of a zombie outbreak that only the boys can stop. Luckily, they have important weapons on their side, their quick wits and trusty baseball bats!

Against this backdrop of zany mayhem, Bacigalupi still manages to raise the very real issues readers have come to expect from him. The book skillfully explores themes of environmentalism and social justice, while never once letting the pace slack or the focus waver from the most important task at hand—beating down zombies.

Limited: 500 signed numbered hardcover copies
Lettered: 26 signed copies, bound in leather, housed in a custom traycase

From Booklist:
“Milrow Meats, the meat-packing plant in Delbe, Iowa, is up to something. Pals Rabi, Miguel, and Joe can tell from the ungodly stink, the anxious behavior of the Mexicans who work there, and—oh yeah—their zombified Little League coach, who tries to nosh their brains… Simultaneously smart, funny, and icky, this book asks a tough question: Is it worth looking the other way in order to save yourself?”

From Publishers Weekly:
“Printz-winner Bacigalupi (Ship Breaker) defies the expectations of the comedy-horror genre, turning this zombie novel into an effective bit of social commentary while staying true to the story’s grisly and goofy roots… Casual readers will have a blast, and those who look deeper will learn something, too.”