British Fantasy Award Finalist

“[A] delightful debut fantasy adventure.” —NPR

“A frank portrayal of the cruelty of class inequality and the poisonous allure of belief in destiny.” —Nerds of a Feather, Hugo Award winner for Best Fanzine

Kalyna’s family has the Gift: the ability to see the future. For generations, they traveled the four kingdoms of the Tetrarchia selling their services as soothsayers. Every child of their family is born with this Gift—everyone except Kalyna.

Pre-Order the Sequel, Kalyna the Cutthroat

Reviews and Press

• NPR: Fantasy grifter 'Kalyna the Soothsayer' will charm her way into your heart
  “Like any encounter with a fortuneteller, it's best to put your trust in Kalyna's hands and let her build a story around the two of you.”

• Nerds of a Feather: Review: Kalyna the Soothsayer by Elijah Kinch Spector
  “… a brilliantly constructed character, endlessly multilayered and relatably conflicted, with a scarred interior that nonetheless perseveres by sheer survival instinct.”

• Foreword: Review of Kalyna the Soothsayer
  “The intricate worldbuilding includes intriguing court politics and nefarious plotting galore. [Kalyna] is both a witty and a determined heroine... A fabulous puzzle box of a fantasy novel.”

• Bookishly Jewish: Review of Kalyna the Soothsayer
  “I may have read the epilogue some fifteen times simply for how happy it made me.”

• Tor.com: 30 Most Anticipated SFF Books for the Rest of 2022
  “Kalyna the Soothsayer is an engaging read with unique prose and a strong-willed, witty protagonist to adore.”

• Paste Magazine: 6 Must-Read New Fantasy Releases That Prove It's a Badass Girl Summer
  “This is [a] stellar debut novel (with an interesting structure and narrative voice) that makes for an excellent summer read.”

• Book Marks: 10 New SF and Fantasy Books to Augment Your August
  “In a genre filled with fortune tellers and seers, we love to see a con artist.”

• Colorado Sun: What the staff at Old Firehouse Books suggests for your next great read
  “Intricate, not dense but full – full of plots and twists and reversals, full of dry humor and wit, full of intrigue that keeps you guessing until it all comes together at the end.”

• Den of Geek: Best New Fantasy Books in August 2022

• Transfer Orbit: Here are 23 new sci-fi and fantasy books to check out this August

• Lesbrary: 42 Bi and Lesbian Books Out in October 2022!

• Reads Rainbow: LGBT Book Releases: Fantasy (July to December 2022)

• io9: A Faux Prophet Scrambles to Con Her Way Out of Trouble in Kalyna the Soothsayer
  Cover reveal and excerpt.

• Tor.com: Erewhon Books Announces Kalyna the Soothsayer, the Debut Novel From Elijah Kinch Spector
  With statements from editor and author.

Essays and Interviews

• Stone Soup: On Becoming the Queer Jewish Monster I Was Destined to Be
  Covering Leah DeVun’s The Shape of Sex and my feelings on the Jewish manticore.

• Whatever: The Big Idea: Elijah Kinch Spector
  On world-building, Norman Davies’ Vanished Kingdoms, and why national identity is crap.

• Advice to Writers Interviews: Elijah Kinch Spector
  From over-sharing to pragmatic advice.

• Mary Robinette Kowal: My Favorite Bit: Elijah Kinch Spector Talks About Kalyna the Soothsayer
  I got to write about petty revenge and being a disappointment.

• Bookishly Jewish: Author Interview: Elijah Kinch Spector
  Anxiety, identity, a Yiddish King Arthur story, and more!

• Terrible Minds: Elijah Kinch Spector: Five Things I Learned Writing Kalyna the Soothsayer
  Sickle fighting! Bisexuality! The Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth!

• Tor.com: Five SFF Books About Spies and Espionage
  I didn’t try to pick five books from five different decades, but it worked out that way.

Further Acclaim

“Kalyna is a character after my own heart: a conniving liar whose love for her family threatens to be her downfall. Hilarious and heartbreaking by turns, Kalyna the Soothsayer is a reminder that if you can't see the future you want, sometimes you have to make it.” —C. L. Clark, author of The Unbroken

“Full of hilarious wit, intrigue, spycraft and charlatans, Kalyna the Soothsayer is a classic adventure with a sardonic twist. At the turn of the last page, I was sad to leave these lovable rogues. I've been waiting a long time to read an intelligent swashbuckling story like this... it's the perfect fantastical escape.” —Marissa Levien, author of The World Gives Way 

“Kalyna the Soothsayer is dangerously good: a spellbinding story, captivatingly told, with a cast of unforgettable characters and plot twists that kept me turning pages past my bedtime.” —Melissa Caruso, author of The Obsidian Tower

“A glorious confection of a novel, with characters you will adore. Politics, prophecy, scams, adventure, and a world that you’ll want to come back to again and again. I’m no soothsayer, but I see you falling in love with this wonderful book.” —Trent Jamieson, award-winning author of The Stone Road and Day Boy