Joelle Wellington grew up in Brooklyn, New York, where her childhood was spent wandering the main branch of the Brooklyn Public Library. Her love of the written word led her to a B.A. in Creative Writing and International Studies. When she isn't writing, she's reading and when she's not doing that, she's attempting to bake bread with varying degrees of success. Her work, Cottonmouth, has been published in Apex Magazine.
""In this debut thriller that calls to mind the Japanese dystopian film Battle Royale (2000) and the American horror film Ready or Not (2019)....Readers are rewarded with heart-stopping reveals. A twisty chronicle, filled with equal parts glory and gore, of an outlier who transforms into a modern ""final girl.""--Kirkus Reviews ""May 15, 2023"" ""Elegant prose and complex characters spin us through the lavish maze of the Remington Estate--a breeding ground of secrets, lies, and competition--in a richly woven thriller that explores the lengths one girl will go to succeed in a world of classism and corruption.""--Ryan Douglass, New York Times bestselling author of The Taking of Jake Livingston ""A fresh and daring debut with quick-witted prose, wild plot twists, and unflinching insights on power and privilege. An absolute thrill!"" --Jessica Goodman, New York Times bestselling author of They Wish They Were Us ""Fiendishly thrilling. Joelle Wellington's debut will shake you up and rock you to the core."" --Kit Frick, author of I Killed Zoe Spanos and The Reunion ""Wellington pens a brutally honest and haunting cautionary tale of what it means to survive in a world that wasn't built for you, exposing the lie that is meritocracy and the unrelenting toll that being a final girl takes. A bloody tale spun masterfully, Their Vicious Games is a dark delight."" --Faridah Abike-Iyimide, New York Times bestselling author of Ace of Spades