★ 04/04/2016
Howard weaves a dark and enticing tale of sisterly bonds, fairy promises, and the price of artistic success in this lushly written debut fantasy set in the present-day U.S. As a child, Imogen was certain that no fairy tale stepmother could possibly be crueler than her own mother, a controlling tyrant. Fortunately, Imogen and her younger sister, Marin, escaped to pursue their dreams: Imogen as a writer, Marin a dancer. After seven years apart, the women are reunited when both are selected to be fellows at Melete, a prestigious artist colony in rural New Hampshire. Melete’s fantastical campus seems perfect, but the sisters learn it’s hiding an extraordinary secret: Melete’s creative energy feeds the Fair Folk. Every seven years, the most promising Fellow is taken to live in Faery—and Imogen and Marin are shortlisted for this dubious honor. Howard’s characters are deftly drawn, and her writing is seductive as fairy magic. This story will resonate with readers long after the last page. (May)
It’s hard to say whether the line-up of awesome-sounding science fiction and fantasy debuts scheduled for release over the next few months is a good thing or a bad thing. On one hand: new authors! new stories! new worlds! new heroes to love! new villains to hate! On the other hand: we also have to pay […]
Familiarity breeds contempt. It’s a truth borne out every vacation season by cross-country family road trips. But when it comes to family, contempt is complex: revulsion and loyalty, irritation and affection, all mixed together. Maybe that’s why the sibling fantasy quest proves so irresistible: it’s offers a little bit of everything—but mostly exasperation. Here’s a […]
Illustrated by Wendy Xu • Edited by Joel Cunningham At the Night & Day Bakery, spells are baked right into the sweets, cakes, and pies–sugar magic for joy, grains of patience, dark as chocolate. The B&N Sci-Fi & Fantasy Blog presents an original short story by award-nominated authors Kat Howard and Fran Wilde. You can also download this story […]
A whole generation of readers grew up with Harry Potter, aging into a world of dangerous magic and hard choices alongside the Boy Who Lived. In An Unkindness of Magicians, Kat Howard presents the story of grownup witches and wizards I’ve been searching for since Harry Potter ended, set in a world of high-stakes magic, […]
We’ve already told you our picks for the year’s best science fiction and fantasy books. Then we figured, why not see what books their authors are reading. After all, who would know better what works in the genre are worthy of celebrating than those who know exactly how much work goes in to creating one […]