Finding North: May 2026

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 Red Star Rebels, The Isles of the Gods, Lady’s Knight, and many more. 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.

I’m writing to you from my beautiful little office at the bottom of the garden, though thanks to the puppy stealing my reading chair and curling up adorably in a sunbeam there, I’m suffering the indignity of having to sit up at my desk. She really is too sweet to move. I have lots to catch you up on, though, so I’m settling in with a cup of tea to get to work.

In this letter:

• What I’ve been up to: road trip philosophy edition

• What I’m writing

• Mail Club update

• Upcoming events

• A NASA-themed recommendation

When last we parted, I had handed in the draft of my 2027 novel, and was about to set off on a road trip for a few weeks. We made our way from Melbourne up to Sydney, and then dawdled home along the coast, and it was divine. We spent our days hopping from beach town to beach town, keeping a very simple rhythm.

I woke at about 6am most days, as the sky started to lighten. Sometimes I went for a sunrise walk, and others I curled up in the campervan’s cozy bed with a book. Tragically for me, there isn’t a lot of room for more than one adult to move around at once in the van, so I was forced to stay curled up in bed while my husband made me breakfast each day. Pip usually joined me, bringing her own book, and we’d read together while we munched on avocado toast. (For those who have been around for a while, I see you gaping. Yes, the child reads now! She keeps growing!)

Some days we all explored, some days we moved on to a new town, and some days we never really made it out of bed with our books. The trip was more or less what you’d imagine, if you think about an idyllic Australian coastal road trip.

We walked surf beaches and admired dramatic blowholes. We explored rainforests and hiked to waterfalls. We built sandcastles, chatted to seals, spotted manta rays and scores of sapphire blue crabs. We visited wonderful little bookshops and amazing cafes, greeted kangaroos visiting our campsites, and then got early nights to start it all again.

Now, I’m one of those people who loves to plan a trip in detail. This isn’t because I don’t know how to slow down, or can’t relax, can’t release my grip. It’s because I enjoy the anticipation so much! I love finding hidden gems to look forward to, locating the perfect stop for the night, or daydreaming about somewhere I can’t wait to arrive. For me, the planning for the trip can be almost as much fun as the trip itself.

This trip, though, I was finishing up a draft before we left, and so my husband planned every step. I was just along for the ride, and there was a deep, exhaling sort of pleasure in this, too. I’d been working really hard before we left — recalling that not all hard work is unpleasant — and I was really ready to unwind after that last charge to my deadline. I felt everything slow down through the first week, culminating in a day spent mostly napping in a sunbeam, just like my sweet puppy’s doing right now. It was glorious. Going fast is fun. Slowing down is such a necessary countermeasure, though. If you need to slow down — if you’ve been going fast for a while — then this is your reminder to slow down too.

We’re readying ourselves for the release of One Knight Stand, which will be out at the start of June, in just a month’s time! I really love this book so much — it deals with what comes after the triumphant culmination of the quest — and I’ll be writing you a dedicated newsletter about it next month.

As for other books, well! I told you back in December that I was on writing retreat with my friend Lili Wilkinson, cooking up something secret. That something secret is in the process of finding a home right now, and I can’t wait to tell you more about it. Here’s a hint: 🎲🏰🌿🐐

Otherwise, I’ve mostly been editing my PhD thesis (my submission date is August, so I want to get this draft back to my supervisors before I go to Japan in late May) and attending to lots of mail club bits and pieces.

I had no idea how much pleasure this mail club project was going to bring me. One of my commitments is that I want to work with small businesses to create it. Yesterday I met up with a lovely local printer who’s just five minutes from my house. He’s been in the business for forty years, and quite possibly thinks I’m mad, but is determined to give me what I want! I love the idea of waltzing up the street to check on a new sample with him. I also now know a lot about envelope sizes and the gsm of linen paper!

An artist I know will be creating the logo and other bits and pieces, and figuring out what it should all look like has been a pleasure as well. I just realised, in fact, that I’m smiling as I type this. Attending to all the parts of this adventure with real affection has been such a wonderful experience so far, and I really do feel that you’ll sense it in the final result.

I think we’re still on track to go on sale in June and post in July, but I’ll keep you (pun intended) posted!

If you’re wondering what I’m talking about, you can find the details of my upcoming mail club, and sign up for the waiting list right here.

If, like me, you’re still thinking about the inspirational Artemis II mission, then you can share in the astronauts’ admiration for our incredible planet with this tool from NASA — enter your name, and it’ll spell it out for you with images from NASA’s Landsat records.

These images are from Alaska, Kyrgyzstan, New York and the Sea of Okhotsk. If you make your own, hover your mouse over each image to learn where it’s from. Go on, try it here. Pause for a little wonder.

I must also remind you, of course, that if Artemis II left you feeling connected to all things space exploration, then my latest book, Red Star Rebels, is about exactly that. Details and links are here.

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If you’re in Melbourne, you can find me hosting a panel on dark academia for Tigest Girma, R.F. Kuang and Lili Wilkinson as part of Melbourne Writers Festival on May 9th. I’m really looking forward to a deep, thoughtful discussion about the pull and the nature of dark academia, how we challenge it via representations of race, gender and sexuality, and how its presentation and purpose can shift when we write for different audiences. I believe tickets are nearly gone, but the last ones are available here.

You can also catch me on June 6th at the Wheeler Centre hosting the launch of Shadow Reaper for Lynette Noni — this is a new series starter for Lynette, and we’re going to have a blast discussing how it came about, and pulling apart everything we love about it. Yes, I did get an advance copy to prepare for this event, and yes, I’m really enjoying the read! You can find tickets and order books here. You may notice this event is only a couple of days after One Knight Stand comes out. You’ll also be able to grab a signed copy of One Knight Stand at this event.

That’s it from me for now! I’ll be back with a dedicated One Knight Stand newsletter soon, and plenty more news to share. I can’t wait to tell you about my trip to Japan, and all the adventures I have planned for that. Until then, happy reading!

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