The River Has Roots

Half delicious murder ballad, half beguiling love story, Amal El-Mohtar transports us to Faerieland so seamlessly it seems as though she just stepped out of it * Holly Black, New York Times bestselling author of The Cruel Prince * When it comes to storytelling, Amal El-Mohtar is like one of the grammarians of Thistleford, a magician capable of deftly transforming the familiar into the unfamiliar and the numinous into the humane. The River Has Roots is an utterly enchanting tale of love and longing, language and song, and the unbreakable bond of sisterhood * Fonda Lee, author of the Green Bone Saga * Gorgeous and glorious! Every sentence sings! Amal El-Mohtar weaves a lovely and poignant fairy tale that will linger in your heart * Sarah Beth Durst, New York Times bestselling author of The Spellshop * This book is lyrical, elegant, and above all, kind. I devoured it in one sitting. This story feels like the smell of rain. This is a fairy tale wrapped in brilliant language. An absolute must-read. Amal El-Mohtar is quite simply one of the best writers on the scene in ages * T. Kingfisher, New York Times bestselling author of A Sorceress Comes To Call * The River Has Roots is the perfect fable: both bright and brutal, very old and brand new. It’s a story that outlasts itself, lingering like a song; I adored it * Alix E. Harrow, New York Times bestselling author of Starling House * Amal El-Mohtar’s genius fairytale reflects a truth we can never forget: words carry enormous power. The River Has Roots is truly exquisite * Zoraida Córdova, USA Today bestselling author of The Inheritance of Orquídea Divina * The River Has Roots is a beautiful, musical, and loving story, perfectly rendered in El-Mohtar’s beautiful, musical, and loving prose. This novella has all the dark comforts of an old tale and all the light vigors of a new classic, and will inspire you to raise your voice in song with those you love * Emma Törzs, author of Ink Blood Sister Scribe *

Amal El-Mohtar is an author, editor and critic. Her short story ‘Seasons of Glass and Iron’ won the Hugo, Nebula, and Locus awards and was a finalist for the World Fantasy, Sturgeon, Aurora, and Eugie Foster awards. She is the author of The Honey Month, a collection of poetry and prose written to the taste of twenty-eight different kinds of honey, and contributes criticism to NPR Books and The New York Times. Her fiction has most recently appeared on Tor.com and Uncanny Magazine, and in anthologies such as The Djinn Falls in Love & Other Stories and The Starlit Wood: New Fairy Tales. She is currently pursuing a PhD at Carleton University and teaches Creative Writing at the University of Ottawa.