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Solaris Nova to publish Regency fantasy trilogy by Natania Barron

We’re delighted to announce the latest addition to the Solaris Nova family: Netherford Hall by Natania Barron.

The first in a brand new trilogy combining the Regency era with witchcraft, Netherford Hall is a sapphic historical fantasy in which Gentlewitch Edith Rookwood and her family return to their ancestral seat of Netherford Hall in Kent, England following a mysterious fire in their London home. It’s there Edith faces a new threat in the form of her tenant: the chaotic and lovely Poppy Brightwell.

The women can’t deny the attraction growing between them, but Edith needs to marry for money to save her new home from usurpers—and Poppy’s very soul is at risk when she discovers the bargain her parents made with a being they thought was a witch.

Netherford Hall will hit shelves in August 2024!

World All Languages Rights were acquired by David Moore from Stacey Graham at 3 Seas Literary Agency.

For press enquiries please contact Jess Gofton, PR & Marketing Manager: jess.gofton@rebellion.co.uk

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Solaris snaps up Karin Lowachee’s dragon novella trilogy The Crowns of Ishia

Solaris is delighted to announce the acquisition of The Crowns of Ishia trilogy, including The Mountain Crown, The Desert Talon and a sequel, by Karin Lowachee.

Meka’s nomadic people, the Ba’Suon, were driven from their homeland by the Kattakans. Decades later, under a fragile truce, Meka returns for an ancient and necessary rite: culling a king dragon of the Crown Mountains to maintain balance in the wild country.

Accompanied by an imprisoned dragon, a Kattakan veteran of war and a Ba’Suon traitor, Meka soon discovers the survival of the Ba’Suon people, their dragons, and the land itself will depend on the choices she and her companions make in this gunslinging fantasy of colonialism and resistance.

World English Rights were acquired by Amy Borsuk from Tamara Kawar at DeFiore & Company.

The Mountain Crown will be released in October 2024.

Author Karin Lowachee on the acquisition:

“I am absolutely thrilled to be a new part of the team at Solaris with The Mountain Crown and its sequels. I know my stories will thrive in the hands of Solaris as we work together to shepherd them into fruition. My heartfelt gratitude to Amy Borsuk and everyone at Solaris who are just as excited as I am to dive in!”

Acquiring Editor Amy Borsuk:

“I am absolutely thrilled to be working with Karin Lowachee on this incredible series. At long last, I get to work on an epic dragon fantasy! I loved this series from the first page and I’m so excited to bring it to fantasy readers across the globe. Karin is able to pack a full world rich with dragons, personal traumas, intense cultural histories and politics of colonialism and empire into the novella form with such ease. Come for the dragons, stay for the beautiful storytelling, compelling characters and gunslinging flavour.”

Karin Lowachee was born in South America, grew up in Canada, and worked in the Arctic. She has been a creative writing instructor, adult education teacher, and volunteer in a maximum security prison. Her novels have been translated into French, Hebrew, and Japanese, and her short stories have been published in numerous anthologies, best-of collections, and magazines. When she isn’t writing, she serves at the whim of a black cat.

For press enquiries please contact Jess Gofton, PR & Marketing Manager: jess.gofton@rebellion.co.uk.

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Solaris to publish The Longest Autumn by Amy Avery for the UK

Solaris is delighted to announce the acquisition of The Longest Autumn by Amy Avery for the UK, a lush, romantic fantasy for fans of Kushiel’s Dart and Gods of Jade and Shadow.

Tirne is one of four humans rigorously selected to usher the turn of the seasons into the mortal world. Every year, she escorts the taciturn god Autumn between the godly and human realms. Autumn’s seasonal stay among mortals brings cooler weather, changing leaves, and the harvest of apples and gourds until Winter takes his place.

This year, the enchanted Mirror that separates their worlds shatters after Tirne and Autumn pass through, trapping both of them in the human realm. As the endless autumn stretches on, crops begin to fail and the threat of starvation looms. Away from the magic of the gods’ home, Tirne suffers debilitating headaches that return with a vengeance. Worse, Autumn’s extended stay in the human realm turns him ever more mortal and vulnerable, stirring a new, forbidden attraction to Tirne.

While the priesthood scrambles to find a way to reassemble the Mirror, Tirne digs into the temple’s secrets and finds an unlikely ally–or enemy–in the enigmatic sorcerer and master of poisons, Sidriel. Thrown into a world of mystery, betrayal, and espionage as she searches for the truth, might Tirne lose her morals, her hard-earned position, and the illicit spark between her and Autumn?

UK/BC, excluding Canada, English Language Rights were acquired by Amy Borsuk from Brent Taylor at Triada US Inc. on behalf of Jennifer Azantian at Azantian Literary Agency.

The Longest Autumn will be released in January 2025.

Author Amy Avery on the acquisition:

“I’m so thrilled and honored to be working with Solaris and Amy Borsuk on The Longest Autumn! I can’t wait for the UK to meet my flawed, messy priestess and experience her world of unending autumn. It’s a joy to call Solaris my home across the pond.”

Acquiring Editor Amy Borsuk:

“I’m so excited to be bringing The Longest Autumn to UK readers. This lush fantasy has such an evocative world, and some deliciously messy romance. I was transported by the story from page one, and with a story about the god of Autumn and a priestess trying to find her way in two worlds, how can you not be?”

Amy Avery is a graphic designer and a lifelong lover of fantasy living in Wichita, Kansas. In her spare time, she co-hosts the writing craft podcast And It’s Writing. She can also be found watching cooking shows with her husband, mixing cocktails, or catering to the whims of a rather demanding tuxedo cat.

For press enquiries please contact Jess Gofton, PR & Marketing Manager: jess.gofton@rebellion.co.uk.

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Solaris to publish O. O. Sangoyomi’s Masquerade for the UK

A black starred background, blue-purple circles. Acquisition Announcement, O. O. Sangoyomi, MASQUERADE, Summer 2024. The White Solaris Logo is in the top right corner.

Solaris is excited to announce the acquisition of Masquerade by O.O. Sangoyomi, and a second novel, for the UK.

Set in an alternate version of 15th century West Africa, Masquerade is a luscious literary speculative tale of power and freedom inspired by the myth of Persephone.

Òdòdó’s hometown of Timbuktu has been conquered by the the warrior king of Yorùbáland. Already shunned as social pariahs, living conditions for Òdòdó and the other women in her blacksmith guild grow even worse under Yorùbá rule.

Then Òdòdó is abducted. She is whisked across the Sahara to the capital city of Ṣàngótẹ̀, where she is shocked to discover that her kidnapper is none other than the vagrant who had visited her guild just days prior. But now that he is swathed in riches rather than rags, Òdòdó realizes he is not a vagrant at all; he is the warrior king, and he has chosen her to be his wife.

In a sudden change of fortune, Òdòdó soars to the very heights of society. But after a lifetime of subjugation, the power that saturates this world of battle and political savvy becomes too enticing to resist. And as tensions with rival states reveal elaborate schemes and enemies hidden in plain sight, she must re-forge the shaky loyalties of the court to her favor, or risk losing everything—including her life.

UK/BC, excluding Canada, English Language Rights were acquired by David Moore from Chris Scheina at Forge Books.

Masquerade will be released on 4th July 2024.

Author O.O. Sangoyomi on the acquisition:

“I am delighted that my debut novel has found a home at Solaris. I cannot wait to introduce my Medieval West African retelling to the United Kingdom.”

Acquiring Editor David Moore:

“I’m delighted to be bringing this wonderful book to the British market. Masquerade is a visceral, powerful, gorgeously written book that will introduce readers to a world they know too little about.”

O.O. Sangoyomi (she/her) is a Nigerian American author with a penchant for African mythology and history. During a childhood of constantly moving around within the U.S., she found an anchored home in the fictional worlds of books. Sangoyomi is a graduate of Princeton University, where she studied English and African American Studies. Masquerade is her debut novel.

For press enquiries please contact Jess Gofton, PR & Marketing Manager: jess.gofton@rebellion.co.uk.

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Saint Death’s Daughter wins World Fantasy Award!

Photo credit: Carlos Hernandez

Saint Death’s Daughter by C. S. E. Cooney has won the 2023 World Fantasy Award for Best Novel!

Following the kooky and creepy adventures of necromancer Lanie Stones as she fights to keep her home in the wake of her parents’ murders, and the found family she makes in the aftermath of loss, Saint Death’s Daughter is a whimsically Gothic delight for fans of Gideon the Ninth and Nettle and Bone.

The Solaris team are beyond thrilled that this warm hug of a debut novel has received such a prestigious award. The sequel, Saint Death’s Herald, will be released in Spring 2025!

Discover all of the wonderful winners and nominees of this year’s World Fantasy Awards here, and head on over to C. S. E. Cooney’s website to read her acceptance speech.

You might also be interested in:

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Revealing the cover of Queen of None by Natania Barron

We’re so delighted to reveal the stunning cover of Queen of None by Natania Barron, designed by Nat Mackenzie!

In the first instalment of her stunning Queens of Fate trilogy, Natania Barron gives a voice to King Arthur’s oft-forgotten sister, Anna Pendragon, in a feminist historical fantasy for fans of The Cleaving and My Name is Morgan.

Anna will be remembered. May 2024.

When Anna Pendragon was born, Merlin prophesied: “Through all the ages, and in the hearts of men, you will be forgotten.”

Married at twelve, and a mother soon after, Anna – the famed King Arthur’s sister – did not live a young life full of promise, myth, and legend. She bore three strong sons and delivered the kingdom of Orkney to her brother by way of her marriage. She did as she was asked, invisible and useful for her name, her status, her dowry, and her womb.

Twenty years after she left her home, Anna returns to Carelon at Arthur’s bidding, carrying the crown of her now-dead husband, Lot of Orkney. Past her prime and confined to the castle itself, she finds herself yet again a pawn in greater machinations and seemingly helpless to do anything about it.

Anna must once again face the demons of her childhood: her sisters Morgen, Elaine, and Morgause; Merlin and his scheming Avillion priests; and Bedevere, the man she once loved. To say nothing of new court visitors, like Lanceloch, or the trouble concerning her own sons.

Carelon, and all of Braetan, is changing, though, and Anna must change along with it. New threats, inside and out, lurk in the shadows, and a strange power begins to awaken in her. As she learns to reconcile her dark gift, and struggles to keep the power to herself, she must bargain her own strength, and family, against her ambition and thirst for revenge.

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Solaris to publish The Spear Cuts Through Water for the UK

Solaris is delighted to announce the acquisition of The Spear Cuts Through Water by Simon Jimenez for the UK.

Shortlisted for an Ignyte Award, British Fantasy Award and the Ursula K. Le Guin Prize, The Spear Cuts Through Water is a stunning and ambitious fantasy saga told as a story within a story that explores identity, legacy and belonging, in a tale of a god who escapes from their prison beneath a despotic emperor’s palace.

The Spear Cuts Through Water will be released in March 2024. UK/BC Rights were acquired by Amanda Rutter from Rachel Kind at Del Rey.

Author Simon Jimenez on the acquisition:

“I’m thrilled to be working with the Solaris team on the UK release for The Spear Cuts Through Water, and so excited to share the book with the new readership.”

Acquiring Editor Amanda Rutter:

“At London Book Fair, I was bowled over to realise that the UK rights to the most beautiful novel I have read in years, possibly ever, were still available. I immediately started the work to bring The Spear Cuts Through Water to a new readership, and I am delighted that Simon agreed to be published by Solaris. I am honoured to think that this breath-taking, clever and epic novel is going to be a part of our list. It deserves every single award nomination and plaudit it has received!”

Simon Jimenez is a Filipino-American writer of speculative fiction. His debut novel was The Vanished Birds and The Spear Cuts Through Water is his second novel. Jimenez’s works have received critical praise, with his debut novel being nominated for the 2021 Locus Award for Best First Novel and the 2021 Arthur C. Clarke Award. Jimenez himself was nominated for the 2021 Astounding Award for Best New Writer.

For press enquiries please contact Jess Gofton, PR & Marketing Manager: jess.gofton@rebellion.co.uk.

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OUT NOW: The Water Outlaws by S. L. Huang

We’re wishing The Water Outlaws by S. L. Huang the happiest of book birthdays!

The Chinese classic Water Margin is reimagined through a queer, feminist lens in this lush wuxia epic that will delight fans of She Who Became the Sun and The Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi.

In the jianghu, you break the law to make it your own.

Lin Chong is an expert arms instructor, training the Emperor’s soldiers in sword and truncheon, battle axe and spear, lance and crossbow. Unlike bolder friends who flirt with challenging the unequal hierarchies and values of Imperial society, she believes in keeping her head down and doing her job.

Until a powerful man with a vendetta rips that carefully-built life away.

Disgraced, tattooed as a criminal, and on the run from an Imperial Marshall who will stop at nothing to see her dead, Lin Chong is recruited by the Bandits of Liangshan. Mountain outlaws on the margins of society, the Liangshan Bandits proclaim a belief in justice―for women, for the downtrodden, for progressive thinkers a corrupt Empire would imprison or destroy. They’re also murderers, thieves, smugglers, and cutthroats.

Apart, they love like demons and fight like tigers. Together, they could bring down an empire.

“S. L. Huang doesn’t put a foot wrong in this magisterial epic.”—Shelley Parker-Chan, author of She Who Became the Sun

“This queer retelling of a Chinese classic is a fantastic and entertaining blend of action, humor, profanity, social justice, delightfully larger-than-life characters, and so many magnificent fight scenes!”—Kate Elliott, bestselling author of Unconquerable Sun

“A refreshing, engaging interpretation of a cornerstone of Chinese literature for contemporary readers around the world.”—Xueting C. Ni, editor of the British Fantasy Award-winning Sinopticon: A Celebration of Chinese Science Fiction

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OUT NOW: Grave Suspicions by Alice James

We’re wishing a very happy book birthday to Grave Suspicions by Alice James, which is out now in the US – don’t worry UK readers, you only need to wait until Thursday for your copy!

Necromancer Toni Windsor returns in the third installment of the tongue-in-cheek Lavington Windsor series, seeking the murderer of a Cornish cheese millionaire…

Join Alice at The Woodstock Bookshop this Saturday 19 August to celebrate the release!

She’s back. She’s hungover. She’s got no idea.

Estate agent by day, necromancer by night, reluctant amateur sleuth when bullied into it… Toni Windsor is already juggling life and now she has to find out who clubbed a Cornish cheese millionaire to death while he was alone in a locked room.

And her diary was already full. She’s trying to keep the peace between vampire courts, a fistful of demonic contracts have just landed on her lap and – no surprise – her love life still isn’t looking great even though she’s finally dating someone who isn’t dead.

Can’t a girl catch a break?

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Meet the contributors to Nordic Visions!

Storytelling has been a major force in the Nordic countries for thousands of years, renowned for its particular sense of dark humour, featuring pacts with nature and a view of the worlds you seldom find in other places.

Featuring 16 stories across fantasy, science fiction and horror from the best contemporary speculative authors from Finland, Sweden, Denmark, Norway, Iceland, and The Faroe Islands, many in English for the very first time, Nordic Visions edited by Margrét Helgadóttir is out this October and today we’re introducing you to its contributors!

Alexander Dan Vilhjálmsson  is an Icelandic novelist who lives in Reykjavík, Iceland. He explores the weird in all its multitudes, usually in fantastical novels and black metal lyrics. His Hrímland  duology, starting with Shadows of the Short Days in 2019, merges Icelandic history and folklore with fantasy literature. Its sequel, The Storm Beneath a Midnight Sun, was released in 2022. These days Alexander is very occupied with infusing the mundane with the fantastical. He works in both Icelandic and English, translating back and forth as necessary. The language he chooses to write in is dictated by the work itself—a convenient excuse. Some people try to call him a musician, which he disagrees with for some reason. More details can be found on his website at alexanderdan.net

Emmi Itäranta is a Finnish author who writes fiction in Finnish and English. Her debut novel Memory of Water from 2014 has won numerous awards, including a James Tiptree Jr. Award honours list mention and the Kalevi Jäntti Prize for young writers in Finland. She has also published two other award-winning novels: The Weaver and The Moonday Letters. Emmi’s work has been translated into more than twenty languages. She returned to her native Finland in 2021 after 14 years in the UK. Find out more at her website: www.emmiitaranta.com

Hannu Rajaniemi was born in Finland. At the age of eight, he approached the European Space Agency with a fusion-powered spaceship design, which was received with a polite ‘thank you’ note. Hannu is a co-founder and CEO of HelixNano, a venture- and Y Combinator[1]backed synthetic biology startup building the world’s most advanced mRNA platform to enable previously impossible applications across human and non-human biology, including COVID-19, climate and cancer. Hannu studied mathematics and theoretical physics at the University of Oulu and Cambridge and holds a PhD in string theory from the University of Edinburgh. He co-founded a mathematics consultancy whose clients included the UK Ministry of Defence and the European Space Agency. He is the author of four novels including The Quantum Thief (winner of the 2012 Tähtivaeltaja Award for the best science fiction novel published in Finland and translated into more than twenty languages). His most recent book is Summerland, an alternate-history spy thriller in a world where the afterlife is real. His short fiction has been featured in Slate, MIT Technology Review and The New York Times.

Jakob Drud is a Danish author who currently lives in Aarhus, Denmark, with his two children. He’s been writing for the last twenty years and loves fiction that surprises, brings new insights, and makes him laugh— something that the fantastic genres are perfect for. His first novel for children, titled The Man from Sombra, was published in 2022. Many of his stories can be read online, the links can be found at http://jakobdrud.com. On Twitter Jakob is @jakobdrud, if tweets about writing and life are your thing.

Johann Thorsson is an Icelandic author whose short stories have appeared in publications both in Icelandic and English, such as Fireside Fiction and The Apex Book of World SF series. His first novel, Whitesands from 2021, set in the United States, blends Nordic noir with the supernatural. He grew up partly in the Middle East and eastern Europe but now lives in Reykjavik with his wife, two kids and ever-decreasing space on his bookshelves. He can most often be found wasting time on Twitter as @johannthors

Johanna Sinisalo is a Finnish author and screenwriter who has won, among others, the Finlandia Prize and the James Tiptree, Jr. Award. Johanna has been called ‘the queen of Finnish speculative fiction’. Much of her work deals with societal topics, such as equality and environmental issues. Johanna’s writing has been translated into around twenty languages, of which four novels in English, all praised by readers and critics alike: the Tiptree-winner Not Before Sundown (U.S. edition Troll–A Love Story), Birdbrain, The Blood of Angels, and her latest novel from 2016, The Core of the Sun, which made the Tiptree honour list. Her novelette Baby Doll was shortlisted for the Theodore Sturgeon Memo[1]rial Award in 2008 and the Nebula in 2009. You can find several of Johanna’s short stories in English in many anthologies such as Year’s Best Weird Fiction, Volume Four (2017), and she has also edited The Dedalus Book of Finnish Fantasy, an anthology of Finnish speculative fiction. As a screenwriter, Johanna’s most known work is the original story for the 2012 cult SF comedy movie Iron Sky.

John Ajvide Lindqvist is a Swedish author with a background as both a magician and a stand-up comedian. Today he’s a well-known author with several acclaimed novels and short stories, several within horror and fantasy. His debut novel was Låt den rätte komma in (Let the Right One In), in 2004, and his works include novel titles such as Hanteringen av odöda (Handling the Undead), Människohamn (Harbour), Lilla stjärna (Little Star), and also the short story collection Pappersväggar (Let the Old Dreams Die). ‘Border’, one of the short stories in this collection, was made into a feature film in 2019. Lindqvist was also a writer for the television series Reuter & Skoog (1999) and wrote the screenplays for Swedish Television’s drama series Kommissionen (2005) and for the film Let the Right One In, based on his novel. His work has been awarded several times, especially in connection with the script for the film Let the Right One In, but also the Selma Lagerlöf Prize. His work has also been nominated for awards such as Tiptree, Hugo, BFA and Stoker. John is married to the author Mia Ajvide and lives in the archipelago of Roslagen, Sweden. Find out more on his website: www.johnajvidelindqvist.com

Karin Tidbeck is a Swedish author who lives and works in Malmö as a freelance writer and translator and writes speculative fiction in Swedish and English. They debuted in 2010 with the Swedish collection Vem är Arvid Pekon? Their English debut, the 2012 collection Jagannath, received the Crawford Award and was shortlisted for the World Fantasy Award. The novel Amatka was shortlisted for the Locus Award in 2018. Their 2021 novel, The Memory Theater, was named one of the best speculative fiction books of the year by The New York Times. Karin’s short fiction is published at Tor.com, Uncanny Magazine, Lightspeed and more. They dedicate their free time to games, historical fencing and Forteana. Find them online at karintidbeck.com and on Instagram as @ktidbeck

Kaspar Colling Nielsen is a Danish author who debuted with Mount København (Mount Copenhagen) in 2010. The sequel was published in 2013—a futuristic narrative called Den Danske Borgerkrig 2018-24 (The Danish Civil War 2018-24). Both works are on the borderline of novel and short story collection, where the grotesque, tragicomic, and social satirical intertwine in a unique form of narrative art. The topical Det europæiske forår (The European Spring) came out in 2017 and was shortlisted as the best foreign novel for the Prix du Livre Inter in France in 2019. His short story collection Dengang dinosaurene var små (When the Dinosaurs Were Small) was published in 2019, and the novel Frelsen fra Hvidovre (Salvation from Hvidovre) in 2021. Kaspar’s books have been translated into twenty-one languages.

Lene Kaaberbøl is a Danish writer whose work primarily consists of children’s fantasy series and crime fiction for adults. She’s the author of the book series The Shamer ChroniclesKatrionaW.I.T.C.H., Nina Borg (with Agnete Friis), Madelein Karno, and Wild Witch. Several of her books have been made into movies (such as The Shamer’s Daughter), and her Wild Witch book series provided the basis for a Danish children’s fantasy film of the same name. Lene received the Nordic Children’s Book Prize in 2004. In 2009 Lene, and her co-author Agnete Friis, were awarded the Harald Mogensen Prize by the Danish Criminal Academy (Det danske Kriminalakademi, DKA) for the novel The Boy in the Suitcase.

Margrét Helgadóttir is a Norwegian-Icelandic author and anthologist living in Oslo, Norway. Her short fiction appears in many venues, such as Slate, Luna Station Quarterly, Girl at the End of the World, and Sunspot Jungle, to name a few. Her debut book—The Stars Seem So Far Away—was a finalist at the British Fantasy Awards 2016, and is an apocalyptic road tale set in a far-future Arctic world. Margrét is the editor of the anthology Winter Tales (2016) and the anthology series Fox Spirit Books of Monsters, seven volumes published between 2014 and 2020. Three volumes were shortlisted for the British Fantasy Awards as Best Anthology (2016, 2017 and 2018), and Margrét was also awarded Starburst Magazine’s Brave New Words Award in 2018 for her editorial work on Pacific Monsters. Read more on her website: https:// margrethelgadottir.wordpress.com

Maria Haskins is a Swedish-Canadian writer and reviewer of speculative fiction, who currently lives just outside Vancouver, Canada, with a husband, two kids, a snake, several birds, and a very large black dog. Maria’s work has appeared in The Best Horror of the Year Volume 13, Strange Horizons, Black Static, Interzone, Fireside, Beneath Ceaseless Skies, Flash Fiction Online, Mythic Delirium, Shimmer, Cast of Wonders, and elsewhere. Her short story collection Six Dreams About the Train was published by Trepidatio Publishing in 2021. Find out more on Maria’s website: mariahaskins.com, or follow her on Twitter, where she is @mariahaskins.

Rakel Helmsdal is a Faroese multi-artist. She has so far published twenty-five books (novels, short story collections and picture books), as well as plays, short stories, and poems. Rakel sees herself as a storyteller for all age groups, and she chooses the medium—texts, plays, poems, pictures, sculptures—depending on what she feels that the story requires. Rakel is the co-author of the book series Little Monster and Big Monster, together with Icelandic author and illustrator Áslaug Jónsdóttir and Swedish author Kalle Güettler. The books have so far been published in nineteen languages. Rakel’s works have been nominated five times for the Nordic Council of Ministers’ Children and Youth Literature Prize. Her novel Hon, sum róði eftir ælaboganum (She Rowed After the Rainbow), from 2014, received the West Nordic Children and Youth Literature Prize 2016. She has also been nominated for the ALMA Award (Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award) on four occasions.

Tone Almhjell is a Norwegian author who writes fantasy in both English and Norwegian. She has a master’s degree in English Literature from the University of Oslo. She was working as a journalist when, in a fit of bravery and/or madness, she decided to quit her job, sell her flat, and write fiction full-time. Her debut novel, The Twistrose Key, was first published in the U.S. in 2013 by Penguin but has since been published all over the world. The novel, a middle-grade portal fantasy, was very well received. Among other accolades, it was named a Kirkus Best Book of the Year as well as one of the best debuts for young readers in 2013 by the American Booksellers Association. The companion book, Thornghost, also received great reviews and was nominated to ARK’s award for children’s books in 2016. Tone currently lives in Oslo, Norway, with her husband, two sweet kids, and two stubborn cats. Her story in this anthology, ‘The Cormorant’, is inspired by a fairy tale from Northern Norway by Regine Normann. It’s Tone’s first story for adults.

Thore Hansen is a Norwegian author, illustrator, and cartoonist. Hansen debuted with the short story collection Grimaser (Grimaces) in 1975 and has since published many books for children and adults—almost fifty in total. He is known for his characteristic illustrations, and in addition to his own publications, he has also illustrated several books written by other authors. He is particularly well-known for his collaboration with Tor Åge Bringsværd on the tales of Ruffen and Det blå folket (The Blue People), among others. Hansen has won several prizes for his work, including The Norwegian Ministry of Church and Education’s Cartoon Prize (1980), and the Norwegian Ministry of Culture and Church’s Prize for Children’s and Young Adult Literature—a total of five times, the Nordic School Librarian Association’s Children’s Book Prize (2002), and the Book Art Prize (2004). In 2020, he won the Norwegian Cartoonist Forum’s honorary prize, ‘Sproing’.

Tor Åge Bringsværd is a Norwegian author who writes both for children and adults. He is the recipient of several awards as an author and playwright, including the Norwegian Critics Prize for Literature, the Ibsen Prize, and the Arts Council Norway Honorary Award. He has been translated into several languages (despite his name having two impossible Norwegian letters that almost no one outside Norway knows how to pronounce). He lives with his wife in a small village in southern Norway, where a river occasionally flows through their garden. While there are few fish in the river, there are, on the other hand, ducks and beavers. Beneath a big apple tree at one end of the garden, Tor Åge spends most of the year writing in his office cabin, complete with a weather pig (Nasse Nøff, a.k.a. Piglet) on the roof and a lively badger family beneath the floor. When the cold comes and ice freezes on the sidewalks, he prefers to escape south to Lanzarote, that blessed pile of rocks off the coast of Africa. His life motto is: Coincidences are our friends.