Fiona Holland, a fourth-year English: creative and professional writing student, has signed on a deal for Project X, a dystopian romance trilogy published under Lost Island Press. The first book, Below, will have an early release in January 2027 and will be officially released in February.
“[Being an author has] always been the dream,” Holland shared in an interview with Imprint. She secured the publication deal as one of two winners of the publisher’s writing contest. Over 60 fantasy, dystopian, and sci-fi manuscripts, including Holland’s draft of Below, were entered to be considered for publication, while authors participated in critical manuscript evaluations and interviews.
Cover art of the trilogy’s upcoming first book, Below. (Photo credit: MAD Covers, Lost Island Press)
In Below, people enter the dystopian society Nether as teenagers or adults by falling from the sky with no possession of their memories. The protagonist, June, is an exception, having fallen from the sky when she was nine and experiencing the return of her memories in flashes. June is consequently labelled “irregular.,” Prime, Nether’s greatest source of evil, categorizes her rarity as “Deviant.” Prime then forcibly recruits June as a weapon strictly designed to kill, but that is no match for the enemies-to-lovers path she is destined to explore with Lord, the dictator’s son, as they form a risky alliance in the face of grave dangers.
Holland’s journey to authorship began in her childhood when she was inspired by children’s books to write her own. Holland worked on novels and other written projects throughout the rest of elementary school and into high school before attending UW. From there, Holland continued honing her writing skills and finalizing story drafts to land a publishing deal.
In December 2025, Holland submitted her initial manuscript for Below to Lost Island Press’ writing contest. In February 2026, Holland was informed that she and fellow author Kimberly Co had been selected. “After we had the final call, I was very relieved. It definitely felt very right: right publisher, right time, [and] right book. It was one of the best days of my life for sure,” Holland said.
Holland says her experience working closely with the editorial staff at Lost Island Press and its founder, Mel Torrefranca, has been excellent and very supportive. Holland also calls it a “full-circle” moment, having followed the publisher since she was 14 years old and entered one of its previous writing contests. The small and tight-knit community at Lost Island Press, she says, allows staff and signed authors to develop meaningful connections with one another while exploring common interests that unite them as people.
YouTube, Instagram, and TikTok have also given Holland many opportunities to create her own online presence with fellow writers as an “authortuber,” a Youtuber who creates content about writing and books. She regularly posts writing vlogs, project progress updates, educational writing tips, and author community events, like collaborative livestreams with other authortubers. She appreciates the authenticity of her followers on both a personal and professional level, with many of them congratulating her on her achievements and wanting to know more about Below.
“On YouTube, I have found some of the most invested individuals, which I never would have expected in my wildest dreams… Getting to talk to the camera doesn’t feel like the camera anymore. It literally feels like I’m talking to these people,” Holland expressed. “It makes me feel less anxious, and I’m just able to be me, which then they also like. I’ve been so lucky to find [this community] not only within my author life, but in my content creation life,” Holland shared.
Holland encourages people to pursue their passions at a professional level even if society labels their dreams as unconventional or hard to achieve. “I think more people need to do what they truly love to do. I think there would be a lot less miserable people in the world if there wasn’t [so much hesitation toward the arts]. That’s the mindset that’s stopping you. That’s why you can’t do that. I’ve never faltered in my belief in myself,” she noted.
Looking ahead to Below’s publication releases, Holland is ecstatic to welcome readers to the story of June, Lord, and the Nether. She also looks forward to publishing the other two books in her Project X trilogy in the near future.
