Note: The recording above is a reading of this newsletter — there’s no different content, and it’s not produced, so you’ll hear the occasional stumble, or sounds of daily life in the background. If you’re someone who needs or prefers to hear their news, then I hope it’s helpful.
Hi there! I’m Amie Kaufman, NYT and internationally bestselling author of The Isles of the Gods, Illuminae, Aurora Rising, These Broken Stars, and many more books besides. This newsletter is the place to learn about my latest releases or events, and to follow along behind the scenes as I find my way through writing, and through life.
Hi, my friends.
After an unusually long summer, autumn has finally arrived here in Melbourne, and I’m delighting in brisk walks along the beach, listening to the rain on the roof, and getting to wear my favourite coat again!
This month, I’m talking about writing as a way to heal, sharing a glimpse at next year’s book, celebrating the one month countdown to Lady’s Knight, and of course there’s another giveaway. Let’s get started.
In this letter:
Writing as healing
What I’m working on
An (audio)book rec
Tour dates
Monthly giveaway
In my experience, every author who was active during 2020 has ended up writing a Covid book. I don’t necessarily mean a book about Covid (though some are) or a book written during Covid (though some were.) I mean a book that responds to their experience during the worst part of the pandemic.
For some people, that book’s dark and murderous. For some, it’s set in faraway places that they yearned to visit, or in a future or past where they could escape reality. There are horror novels, rom-coms, and everything in between.
My Covid novel? It’s Lady’s Knight. In the long days of lockdown—and Melbourne, Australia was the most locked-down city in the world, at 262 days—I came dangerously close to a burnout I wouldn’t recover from.
I wrote hundreds of thousands of words across multiple novels during lockdown—to meet deadlines and support my family, to escape into other worlds, to offer my readers what I could during a very scary time. But I didn’t just empty my well, in doing so. By the later stages, I was chipping bits of rock and dirt out of the bottom of that bone-dry well, and trying to pass them off as water. I was consuming a part of myself I was pretty sure was a non-renewable resource. There was a point where I wondered if I’d gone so deeply into debt that I wouldn’t recover. I wondered if I would write again.
I wasn’t alone in this, of course. Many other authors had the same experience — and you see it reflected in the Covid novels we wrote, to process, to recover, to refill our wells and find our creativity again.
In the end, my beloved co-author Meg Spooner and I came together to write our way out of the darkness. Rather than struggling alone, we teamed up.
Our Covid novel, it turned out, was going to be all about what brought us joy.
We wanted to write something funny—something hilarious. We wanted it to be cozy and whimsical. We wanted it to be full of fierce, feminist power. We wanted knights and dragons and amazing fashion and prison breaks and jousting and ridiculous historical jokes.
So we wrote it, chapter by chapter, and as we emailed it back and forth, at every turn we made the choice that led us toward joy, toward making the other one laugh, toward moments that make you want to punch the air and say yes! Every time there was a choice, we chose fun.
As I’ve been working on this newsletter, I’ve realised that I’m reflecting on how Lady’s Knight came to be not just because it’s only a month away from release, but because we’re in one of those times again when the world is a lot. There are all-consuming news cycles, and no shortage of things to worry about. For many of us, it feels like there’s more coming out of our wells than we’re putting in.
This time, though, I feel more ready. This time, I know it’s a good time to write a cozy story that’s full of joy. It’s a good time to read one. Lady’s Knight is the book I need right now. It might be a book that will help you, too.
Meg and I are still elbow-deep in the sequel to Lady’s Knight — we’re still filling our writing with jokes, still making each other laugh, still loving the process. We’re creating our own joy all over again.
I’m also waiting on copy edits for Project RSR — that’s the book I’ll have out next year (and my return to space!) — which I’ll finally get to announce soon. It feels very strange to have the whole thing written and the text ready to lock, and still not have talked about it, but the time will come! For now, because I always like to share things in my newsletter that you won’t get anywhere else, here’s a tiny snippet of the pitch doc that convinced my editor to let me write this book.
But! We are not heading to space until 2026! For now, it’s just one month until Lady’s Knight is out! If you’re planning to read the book, I can’t tell you how much it would mean if you preordered.
🇺🇸 You can preorder at Amazon or Barnes & Noble or Bookshop or Books-A-Million! You can now also order from Epic Reads for 20% off and free shipping!
🇬🇧 You can preorder at Waterstones or Amazon or Blackwells or Bookshop or Foyles or Hive or WH Smith!
🇦🇺 You can preorder from Booktopia, or Amazon or Readings or QBD!
📙 And finally, you can add the book on Goodreads right here. (This is, of course, free, and really helps signal your interest!)
I’m going to be cheeky this month, and repeat a recommendation I gave you last year. Back then, I said the following:
I read the first book in the Murderbot Diaries back when it came out in 2017, and lately I’ve been catching up on the rest of the series on audio. The protagonist is a security unit that’s hacked itself so it can act independently (and sometimes, as an unwanted side effect, experience An Emotion) — but free choice means you need to… well, choose. This series is funny, philosophical, and so compelling.
Now, of course, Murderbot is coming to TV this month, so if you haven’t read the books (or listened to the audio — Kevin R. Free really nails the narration) then this is your moment.
I have some events coming up in Australia that I’m hugely excited about. For the first time since pre-pandemic, Meagan Spooner is going to be out here and doing live events, so don’t miss this chance to see us together! We’ll happily sign backlist, and there’ll be time for Q&A.
Melbourne, you can book tickets here — we’d love to see you!
Sydney, you can book your tickets here — and check out all the other amazing events at YA Day!
Friends in the US — we tried so hard to make a tour happen for you, and I’m really sorry to say that we couldn’t get it over the line. The complications of travel right now got the best of us. I was so, so looking forward to seeing you, and I hope we’ll find a way to make it happen in 2026. I’m sorry.
Aussies in general, I want to let you know about Chapters for Change, an amazing readathon that supports literacy projects in Cambodia. I’m proud to be part of the prize offerings this year - the highest individual fundraiser will be flown to Melbourne (with a friend!) for dinner with me. You can find all the details here.
Melbourne, I’m thrilled to be appearing with Q-Lit in June to teach a writing workshop — I know it says masterclass, but you can come along at any level, truly! Q-Lit is a fantastic organisation that boosts LGBTQIA+ voices, amplifies queer storytelling, increases visibility, and supports diverse writers at all stages of their careers. You can find all the details, and book a ticket (including free options) here.
This month’s giveaway is, of course, an advance copy of Lady’s Knight. With a month until publication, what else would we be doing? (Last month’s rumours about Sir Gawain were AMAZING, by the way!) Because she’s landing in Australia NEXT WEEK, this ARC will also be signed by Meg Spooner!
To win, leave a comment telling me what kind of mythical beast you’d like to see Sir Gwen fight in a future book. One answer will be randomly selected, and I’ll reply in a comment to let you know to check your email!
That’s it for this month — when next I see you, it will be launch day! (Unless you’re in Sydney or Melbourne. Then I’ll see you sooner! Grab those tickets!)
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