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Fantasy, even fantasy for younger audiences, isn't all unicorns and fairies. In fact, that metaphor falls especially flat when you consider how many blood-drenched unicorn horns and fairy assassins line the shelves of bookstores these days. That's something that Holly Black and Marie Lu - who penned The Spiderwick Chronicles and Legend series, respectively - know quite well. Even before their adult fantasy debuts, both authors had a lot to say about heavy topics in their YA works.

They continued that reader-to-writer conversation at this year's BookCon, where Popverse also just happened to be in attendance. Always up for the gloomy side of genre fiction, we made sure to make it to Lu and Black's panel and, because we thought you might be interested in the same subject matter, filmed it for you to enjoy.

This is one of the many Bookcon 2026 panels Popverse filmed at New York City's Javits on the Hudson. Consult our Bookcon 2026 panel hub for a list of all of the panels we have available, and what's left to be released.

Watch The Depths of Darkness: An Exploration of Dark Fantasy with Holly Black and Marie Lu now:

Having trouble viewing this video? Read our streaming/VOD FAQ to find the answers you need. Want more? Here's our expansive Popverse panel video hub with years of panels from New York Comic Con, C2E2, Emerald City Comic Con, and more.

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Here's a list of all the major upcoming prose novels in our favorite genres.