The Hunt Ends Here: Benjamin Rempel Signs with Chicken House Press for the Final Feral Winter Novel
Rempel signing his publishing contract at Press Market in Collingwood, ON.
Chicken House Press is proud to announce it has signed Collingwood author Benjamin Rempel for ANTIDOTE, the third and final book in his Feral Winter series. ANTIDOTE will release in spring of 2027, just in time for Zombie Awareness Month.
In 2023, CHP signed a debut novelist with a chilling, unexpected take on the classic zombie story. INFECT followed half-brothers Andrew and Xavier Stone into the dark Ontario woods surrounding their fictional hometown of Barn Wood, where the townsfolk had become something feral. Readers tore through it, sometimes in a single sitting. Last November, MUTATE raised the stakes with a new breed of infected that was stronger, smarter, and more violent than anything the brothers had faced. Blank Spaces called it “sharp, visceral, with masterful tension.”
Since then, Rempel has received a 2025 literary grant from the Canada Council for the Arts on the strength of his debut. He has earned his place as one of the most exciting new voices in Canadian horror. To date, Feral Winter is the best-selling series on the CHP roster.
On September 26, 2026, he signed on to finish what he started.
ANTIDOTE is the conclusion of Feral Winter. It brings the Stone brothers’ story to a brutal, emotional end, and nobody is safe.
After learning of Dr. Simon Stone’s terrifying plan to spread a doctored drug and virus through dozens of towns, half-brothers Andrew and Xavier give chase while Staff Inspector Tom Everett orders a fan-out to track Simon’s horrific new breed of creatures.
Meanwhile, Dr. Angela Till initiates tests on Evelyn to create a permanent antidote while Juliana and Rachel investigate just how far BioHealth Pharmaceutical’s plan spirals down.
But as the group rushes to counter Simon’s plan, they realize they are always a step behind.
Barely surviving waves of attacks while desperately searching for their parents, Andrew and Xavier track Simon to his hideout, but not before he unleashes nine kinds of hell upon them and threatens everything the brothers have fought for.
Forceful and unrelenting, celebrated novelist Benjamin Rempel delivers a gripping and heart-wrenching conclusion to the acclaimed Feral Winter series.
Haven’t started yet? You have until Spring.
If you haven’t met the Stone brothers yet, there’s no better time to begin. Readers have described INFECT as:
“A total page turner… fast-paced with just the right amount of action, science, and great character development.”
“A great story intertwined with some twists and suspense.”
“Great character development that snags the reader’s attention from beginning to end!”
One reader who doesn’t usually pick up thrillers said: “I LOVED it! You will get from cover to cover in no time, it’s one of those books you can’t put down.” Another wrote that the book “grabs the reader from the opening sentence,” and that opening sentence is a good place to start:
“The impact should have killed the child.”
Pick up INFECT and MUTATE together in the CHP Bookstore and save 15% on the bundle. That gives you two books and one long winter to get ready.
ANTIDOTE is the ending Feral Winter fans have been waiting for, and the reason to start this series now.
Watch for it in 2027.
“Sharp, visceral, with masterful tension, Rempel continues to be an exciting new voice in Canadian Horror.” —Blank Spaces
Get caught up before the final chapter. Save 15% when you buy INFECT and MUTATE together.
INFECT (Book One)
Near the end of a harsh winter, half-brothers Andrew and Xavier Stone flee into the dark woods surrounding their isolated hometown. They are hunted by townsfolk who have become something feral. Cut off from power and desperate to find their missing parents, the brothers must uncover the terrifying truth about the virus ravaging their town if they want to survive one more night.
MUTATE (Book Two)
After months of inoculating the infected, the brothers believe the worst is over. Then come the whispers. The antidote is failing, and a mutation is spawning a new breed that is stronger, smarter, and more violent than anything they’ve seen before. As casualties mount, Andrew and Xavier uncover a haunting secret that could lead to a final cure, once and for all.
Readers call the series “a total page turner” and “one of those books you can’t put down.” Start at the beginning and read straight through to the edge of the end.
ANTIDOTE, the explosive conclusion to Feral Winter, arrives in spring 2027.
Paperback | Horror | Adult Fiction | 2-book bundle
Do you want to be part of the release team? CHP needs early reviewers to help create a stir and to give us marketable blurbs we can use in promotion. Sign up to be part of the review team today and you will be notified when we’re ready to start generating buzz for this incredible book. Reviewers for this title should be prepared to read in early 2027. Not caught up? Reading the first two books now puts you in the perfect spot to join us.
