Emily Tesh

Last updated
Emily Tesh
OccupationAuthor
LanguageEnglish
GenreScience fiction; Fantasy
Notable works Some Desperate Glory
Notable awards Astounding Award for Best New Writer (2021)
Hugo Award for Best Novel (2024)

Emily Tesh is a science fiction and fantasy author. She won the 2024 Hugo Award for Best Novel for her first novel, Some Desperate Glory . [1] She won the World Fantasy Award in the novella category in 2020, and the Astounding Award for Best New Writer in 2021.

Contents

Biography

Emily Tesh grew up in London. [2] Tesh has stated that she has written stories since she was a child. [3]

Tesh attended Trinity College, Cambridge and the University of Chicago. She lives in Hertfordshire and is a school classics teacher. [2] [4]

Writing career

Tesh's first published works were the novellas Silver in the Wood and Drowned Country, in the Greenhollow Duology. [5] Silver in the Wood is an adaptation of the Green Man English tale. [6] Author Katharine Coldiron described it as an "utterly enchanting" tale centering queer romance and nature writing. [7] The story won the 2020 World Fantasy Award for Best Novella. [8]

Tesh's first novel, Some Desperate Glory , earned praise from critics and the 2024 Hugo Award for Best Novel. [1] It is a science-fiction novel focusing on the choices that the protagonist, Kyr, must make during a devastating war after having been raised in a fascist, militaristic society. It is a queer story and subverts classic tropes from the space opera and bildungsroman genres. [9]

Tesh's next novel, The Incandescent, was released in May 2025. It is a fantasy novel following Dr. Walden, who is Director of Magic at a British boarding school. In handling the demonic mistakes of her students and her own missteps, Dr. Walden is forced to question and confront her own self-image. [10] Publishers Weekly gave it a starred review, describing it as a "thoughtful exploration of privilege, power, and private school education." [11] Critic Liz Bourke described it as a brilliant novel, "that marries the energy and verve and peril of the best of the fantasy genre with the understated, literary examination of interior and professional lives". [10]

Awards and honors

Awards and honors
YearWorkAwardCategoryResultRef.
2020 Silver in the Wood Astounding Award for Best New Writer —Finalist [12]
Crawford Award —Shortlisted [13]
World Fantasy Award Novella Won [8]
2021 Astounding Award for Best New Writer —Won [14]
2024 Some Desperate Glory Arthur C. Clarke Award —Shortlisted [15]
Hugo Award Novel Won [1]
Locus Award First Novel Finalist [16]
Ursula K. Le Guin Prize —Shortlisted [17]

Selected publications

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Hugo, Lodestar, and Astounding Awards Winners". Locus. 11 Aug 2024. Retrieved 7 Jul 2025.
  2. 1 2 "Emily Tesh, Author at Reactor". Reactor. Retrieved 12 August 2024.
  3. ↑ Rega, Konstantin (2023-03-29). "Emily Tesh Interview". Virginia Living. Retrieved 2025-05-04.
  4. ↑ Byron, Emily (August 17, 2021). "Acquisition Announcement: SOME DESPERATE GLORY by Emily Tesh". Orbit Books . Retrieved 2023-11-06.
  5. ↑ "Emily Tesh Talks Pratical Folklore, Fanfic, and How Witch's Potions Relate to Worldbuilding in Reddit AMA!". Reactor. 2020-08-14. Retrieved 2025-05-04.
  6. ↑ Lou, Jo (2025-02-26). "8 Queer Retellings of Classic Stories". Electric Literature. Retrieved 2025-05-04.
  7. ↑ Coldiron, Katharine (2019-10-23). "Katharine Coldiron Reviews Silver in the Wood by Emily Tesh". Locus Online. Retrieved 2025-05-04.
  8. 1 2 "2020 World Fantasy Awards Finalists". Locus. 27 July 2020. Archived from the original on 19 September 2020. Retrieved 22 September 2020.
  9. ↑ Tabler, Elizabeth (2023-04-12). "An Interview WIth Emily Tesh". Grimdark Magazine. Retrieved 2025-05-04.
  10. 1 2 "The Incandescent by Emily Tesh: Review by Liz Bourke". Locus Online. 2025-04-29. Retrieved 2025-05-04.
  11. ↑ "The Incandescent by Emily Tesh". Publishers Weekly. Retrieved 2025-05-04.
  12. ↑ "Announcing the 2020 Hugo Award Winners". Tor.com. 31 Jul 2020. Retrieved 4 Aug 2025.
  13. ↑ "Muir Wins Crawford Award". Locus. 4 Feb 2020. Retrieved 4 May 2025.
  14. ↑ "2021 Hugo, Astounding, and Lodestar Awards Winners". Locus. 18 Dec 2021. Archived from the original on December 2, 2022. Retrieved 1 Jun 2025.
  15. ↑ "2024 Clarke Award Winner". Locus. 24 Jul 2024. Retrieved 7 Jul 2025.
  16. ↑ "2024 Locus Awards Top Ten Finalists". Locus. 9 May 2024. Retrieved 7 Jul 2025.
  17. ↑ "2024 Le Guin Prize for Fiction Shortlist". Locus. 16 Jul 2024. Retrieved 7 Jul 2025.


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