“Look at you, eating magic like you’re one of us.”
Doctor Walden is the Director of Magic at Chetwood Academy and one of the most powerful magicians in England. Her days consist of meetings, teaching A-Level Invocation to four talented, chaotic sixth formers, more meetings, and securing the school’s boundaries from demonic incursions.
Walden is good at her job―no, Walden is great at her job. But demons are masters of manipulation. It’s her responsibility to keep her school with its six hundred students and centuries-old legacy safe. And it’s possible the entity Walden most needs to keep her school safe from―is herself.
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Award-winning speculative fiction that ranges from folklore-infused historical fantasy to sweeping galactic space opera has established a distinctive place in contemporary literature. UK-based author Emily Tesh gained widespread recognition with her Hugo Award-winning debut novel Some Desperate Glory, demonstrating a narrative command that spans multiple subgenres of science fiction and fantasy.
From folklore adaptations set in traditional English woods to high-stakes space stations and contemporary academic magic, Tesh crafts immersive worlds rooted in complex character relationships and sharp moral dilemmas. Her fiction seamlessly bridges classical literary foundations with modern speculative storytelling.
Emily Tesh grew up in London, England, where she began writing stories as a child. She pursued higher education at Trinity College, Cambridge, and the University of Chicago, studying Classics before taking a position as a school classics teacher. She currently resides in Hertfordshire, England, balancing her background in ancient classical studies with her career as an author.
Tesh first entered the publishing landscape with the Greenhollow duology, comprising the fantasy novellas Silver in the Wood (2019) and Drowned Country (2020). Silver in the Wood won the World Fantasy Award in the novella category in 2020, and Tesh subsequently received the Astounding Award for Best New Writer in 2021. In 2023, she published her debut novel, the queer space opera Some Desperate Glory, which won the 2024 Hugo Award for Best Novel and was shortlisted for the Arthur C. Clarke Award, the Ursula K. Le Guin Prize, and the Locus Award. She followed this success with the 2025 contemporary fantasy novel The Incandescent.
Tesh's prose is distinguished by its genre versatility, drawing on classical literature, English myth, and traditional science fiction tropes to create unique narrative subversions. Her fantasy novellas adapt traditional folklore—such as the English Green Man legend—with emotional depth and atmospheric detail. In contrast, her science fiction works tackle intense thematic territory, including militaristic indoctrination, systemic authority, propaganda, trauma, and individual agency within vast cosmic conflicts.
Across both fantasy and science fiction, Tesh focuses heavily on character development, moral complexity, and the complications of human connection. Whether portraying ancient woodland guardians, young soldiers unlearning indoctrination aboard space stations, or magic directors managing bureaucratic and demonic crises in contemporary England, her narratives emphasize personal accountability and transformation.
