Chelsea Louise Polk (born 1969) is a Canadian author of fantasy fiction, best known for the debut novel Witchmark which won the World Fantasy Award in 2019. A blend of murder mystery and fantasy, Witchmark is set in an alternate history England and is followed by two sequels, Stormsong and Soulstar.
C. L. Polk | |
---|---|
Born | Chelsea Louise Polk 1969 (age 52–53) New Westminster, Canada |
Pen name | C. L. Polk |
Occupation | Author |
Genre | Fantasy fiction |
Notable works | Witchmark |
Notable awards | World Fantasy Award |
Website | |
clpolk |
Polk was born in 1969 in New Westminster, British Columbia and grew up in Surrey and Edmonton.[1] Polk is non-binary.[2] They began writing in their thirties, publishing short fiction in magazines such as Abyss & Apex in the early 2000s.[1][lower-alpha 1] Polk was influenced by the works of fantasy author Tanith Lee, in particular the Tales from the Flat Earth,[4] the historical mystery and fantasy novels of Barbara Hambly, and the Valdemar novels by Mercedes Lackey.[5][6]
Polk's first novel Witchmark, featuring a murder mystery set in an alternate history Edwardian England,[7] was written in 2014 and published in 2018.[1] Witchmark won the World Fantasy Award for Best Novel,[8] and received nominations for several awards including the Nebula and Locus Awards.[9] In 2019, Polk was listed by the CBC as one of "19 Canadian writers to watch".[10]
Witchmark is the first book of the Kingston Cycle, with the sequel Stormsong listed by CBC Books as among the Canadian fiction to watch for in 2020.[11] The third and concluding book of the series, Soulstar, was published in 2021.[12] Other works by Polk include a historical fantasy set in Regency era England, The Midnight Bargain,[13] which was nominated for several speculative fiction prizes.[14] They currently reside in Calgary, Alberta.[15]
Pub. year |
Work | Award | Category | Result[14] |
---|---|---|---|---|
2018 | Witchmark | Aurora Award | Novel | Nominated |
Lambda Award | SF, Fantasy and Horror | Nominated | ||
Locus Award | First Novel | Nominated–4th | ||
Nebula Award | Novel | Nominated | ||
World Fantasy Award | Novel | Won | ||
2020 | The Midnight Bargain | Ignyte Award | Adult Novel | Nominated |
Locus Award | Fantasy Novel | Nominated–9th | ||
Nebula Award | Novel | Nominated | ||
World Fantasy Award | Novel | Nominated | ||
2021 | "The Music of the Siphorophenes" | Ignyte Award | Novelette | Nominated |
The Kingston Cycle | Hugo Award | Series | Nominated | |
Soulstar | Aurora Award | Novel | Nominated | |
Locus Award | Fantasy Novel | Nominated–8th |
Year | Title | Scope | Publication | Ref |
---|---|---|---|---|
2003 | "Le Bel Homme Sans Merci" | "Le Bel Homme Sans Merci". Abyss & Apex. July–August 2003. | ||
2005 | "Bright Wings and Wax" | "Bright Wings and Wax". Ideomancer. 4 (1). March 2005. | ||
2007 | "Kether Station" | "Kether Station". Jim Baen's Universe. 2 (3). October 2007. | ||
2020 | "St. Valentine, St. Abigail, St. Brigid" | Chen, Ruoxi, ed. (February 5, 2020). "St. Valentine, St. Abigail, St. Brigid". Tor.com. | ||
2021 | "The Music of the Siphorophenes" | Novelette | "The Music of the Siphorophenes". F&SF. 140 (3 & 4). March–April 2021. |
{{cite web}}
: Missing or empty |title=
(help)
World Fantasy Award—Novel | |
---|---|
1975–2000 |
|
2001–present |
|
General | |
---|---|
National libraries |