Do you like folktales, by chance? Every one of my books contains folktales and/or folk songs, but those are nothing (in terms of sheer quantity) compared with the tales and songs that didn’t make it into the books. Come join me on a fabulous (fabulist’s?) folkloric journey over at FAKE FOLKTALES, my new Patreon.

At Long Last

Friends, the time has come at last. We have everything we need for the TESS sequel: cover, title, and publication date.

Coming February 1st, 2022: IN THE SERPENT’S WAKE. Click here for pre-order options.

Seraphina in Irish, 2021

The Irish-language edition of Seraphina, published by Coisceim and translated by Scott Oser, will be available soon. More details to come. For a preview of this new translation, see this blog post.

TESS OF THE ROAD award nominations, 2019

Tess of the Road is a finalist for the Andre Norton Award (Nebula) and the Lodestar Award (Hugo) — and as a result I will be going to the Nebula and Hugo award conventions and ceremonies. I’m also going to attend Festival Celsius 232 in Spain in July. Come see me! Details on the Appearances page (soon, if they’re not there yet).

Look below the image for some additional praise for Tess of the Road!

Advance praise for TESS OF THE ROAD:

“Exquisite storytelling…absolutely essential.” — Booklist, starred

“Rewarding and enlightening, both a fantasy adventure and a discourse on consent, shame, and female empowerment.” — Kirkus Reviews, starred

“Seraphina and Shadow Scale flew to the heights of epic, humane, emotionally intelligent fantasy—and Tess soars in their company.  Picaresque, cutting, witty, expansive in vision, adventure, and compassion: Tess has it all.  This is a book that fantasy needs.” — Max Gladstone, author of The Craft Sequence series

“Tess is my new favorite heroine, a flawed, boozy scrapper dealing with the after-effects of a terrible (and all too common) secret. It is a joy to watch her journey unfold, as she slowly reclaims the strength she always had.” — Susin Nielsen, author of Optimists Die First

“Tess is unlikeable, ungraceful, uncooperative, and unrepentant. I love her so much I might burst.” — E.K. Johnston, Exit, Pursued By A Bear

“Come for the fantasy quest adventure, STAY FOR THE DISSECTION OF RAPE CULTURE. Hartman is absolutely on point throughout.” — EK Johnston, A Thousand Nights

“Here I am slain by road builders, symbolic and otherwise. I would read it again.” E.K. Johnston, That Inevitable Victorian Thing

“Hartman deftly avoids the traditional pitfalls of genre, confronting rape culture head on and seamlessly integrating it into the quest narrative without any consideration for so-called historical accuracy.” — EK Johnston, SPINDLE

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Shadow Scale, the sequel to Seraphina, is out at last! The first few chapters are available for free at Scribd, if you’d like to sample it and see what all the fuss is about.

It hit the New York Times Bestseller list its first week out! Thanks, everyone, for reading, enjoying, and spreading the word.

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About Seraphina:

Winner of the 2013 YALSA Morris Award for Best YA Debut Novel

Finalist for the 2012 Governor General’s Literary Award (Canada)

Short-listed for the Kitschies’ Golden Tentacle Award (UK)

Long-listed for the Carnegie Medal (UK)

Seraphina is a New York Times bestselling children’s chapter book!

From the official jacket blurb:

“Four decades of peace have done little to ease the mistrust between humans and dragons in the kingdom of Goredd. Folding themselves into human shape, dragons attend court as ambassadors, and lend their rational, mathematical minds to universities as scholars and teachers. As the treaty’s anniversary draws near, however, tensions are high.

Seraphina Dombegh has reason to fear both sides. An unusually gifted musician, she joins the court just as a member of the royal family is murdered—in suspiciously draconian fashion. Seraphina is drawn into the investigation, partnering with the captain of the Queen’s Guard, the dangerously perceptive Prince Lucian Kiggs. While they begin to uncover hints of a sinister plot to destroy the peace, Seraphina struggles to protect her own secret, the secret behind her musical gift, one so terrible that its discovery could mean her very life.

In her exquisitely written fantasy debut, Rachel Hartman creates a rich, complex, and utterly original world. Seraphina’s tortuous journey to self-acceptance is one readers will remember long after they’ve turned the final page.”

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Some fabulous people are already saying some fabulous things about the book. You must picture my ears turning pink as you read these, friends, but I can’t keep it to myself any longer!

“A book worth hoarding, as glittering and silver-bright as dragon scales, with a heroine who insists on carving herself a place in your mind.” — Naomi Novik, New York Times bestselling author of the Temeraire series.

“Seraphina is strong, complex, talented — she makes mistakes and struggles to trust, with good reason, and she fights to survive in a world that would tear her apart. I love this book!” — Tamora Pierce, New York Times bestselling author.

“Just when you thought there was nothing new to say about dragons, it turns out there is, and plenty! Rachel Hartman’s rich invention never fails to impress — and to convince. It’s smart and funny and original, and has characters I will follow to the ends of the earth.” — Ellen Kushner, World Fantasy Award-winning author.

“A wonderful mix of thrilling story, fascinating characters and unique dragonlore. I loved being in Seraphina’s world!” — Alison Goodman, author of Eon: Dragoneye Reborn

“Beautifully written, well-rounded characters, and some of the most interesting dragons I’ve read in fantasy for a long while. An impressive debut novel; I can’t wait to see what Rachel Hartman writes next.” — Christopher Paolini, New York Times bestselling author of the Eragon series.