Letter of News: Seasons of Glass and Iron, World Fantasy, Festival 42

Dear Friends,

It's the kind of autumn day I associate with September more than October: warm in the sun but brisk in the shade, trees still green and leafy with some vivid exceptions in scarlet and gold. There's a strong breeze that scatters the petal-like leaves of honey locust through the air like a bright rain of coins, and everything smells good and dry, but without the twist of smoke and snow that heralds Halloween for me.

The year's running away from me. (I nearly wrote running away with me, which isn't inaccurate either.) I keep wanting to look back and take stock, but the need to hurtle forward, get work done, let people know where I'll be instead of where I've been, always takes precedence. Just one more bout of travel in two weeks, for two weeks, and then I'll let winter settle over me and put me to bed.

But first!

Waterstones Pre-Order Deal for Seasons of Glass and Iron

UK readers! From October 14-17, if you pre-order Seasons of Glass and Iron from Waterstones, you'll get 25% off the cover price.

This sale applies to a few other 2026 titles, including my dear friend Caitlyn Paxson's wonderful and saucy debut A Widow's Charm, which I got to read in MS and absolutely loved.

Here's a little speech about pre-orders that I'm repeating from a previous newsletter because I haven't found a better or more succinct way of saying it:

Pre-orders (of any format) are probably the single most effective thing a casual book-buyer can do to help a book launch well. But by my lights, the most important thing you can do to support a book you're excited about is to act on that excitement in whatever way fits into your life!

This could mean requesting it into your local library (truly a huge deal, and, in Canada, one that comes with money attached), talking about it in your circles, yelling about it with friends. And if you can pre-order it, do it in whatever format best suits you.

(People sometimes ask what format gives the author a bigger cut; it's a kind question, but the answer sort of necessarily reframes it into, the best thing for the author is you reading it in a way that maximizes your enjoyment of it! If you never listen to audiobooks then there's really no point in buying the audiobook on the basis of it giving the author a few more cents on the dollar, and so on. Chase your joy, and the author will likely benefit thereby.)

World Fantasy in Brighton, Oct 30 - Nov 2

I'll be at the World Fantasy Convention in Brighton!

You can sign up for a Meet the Author thing for the Thursday night here, where we hang out in a small group and chat about whatever comes up. Other than that, I'll be on a panel and have a reading on Saturday. I hope to see you there!

Festival 42 in Barcelona, Nov 5 - 9

I'm so excited to be visiting Barcelona for the first time, and very honoured that the kind folks at Festival 42 have invited me to do so! More details on panels forthcoming, but I'm super looking forward to it.

That's all for now – I write in haste, no time to waste, etc. I hope you're well, shouldering up against the parts of the world that revel in cruelty, taking care of yourself and your neighbours. I hope you read a poem that reminds you of something you cherish about yourself and the world around you. I hope you find something beautiful to look at and touch. I'll try to send some of those along next time.

Wishing you all the best,

Amal