Candlemark & Gleam is delighted to announce the acquisition of K.V. Johansen’s sapphic fantasy Breath and Bone, scheduled for release in the spring of 2026. Johansen is the author of the brilliant The Wolf and the Wild King as well as the extraordinary series Tales of the Caravan Roads, and Breath and Bone continues her string of compelling stories set in deeply imagined, gorgeously detailed worlds.

Naskanna was the emperor’s vahlgod daughter, and then she became Naskanna Deathdealer, who killed the emperor her father, and disappeared with her lover, the wild godling Thallyn, when that war was over. Now she is mostly known as Hedge, and she and Thallyn, called Pony for one of her favorite shapes, live quietly in the northwestern hills. But a desperate girl has heard their true names, and comes seeking their help to rescue her lost brother, and the witch who holds him in thrall is their old enemy…

Johansen is known for settings that feel steeped in history, where the past always intrudes to complicate the present, and for complex, often conflicted characters struggling to live with the consequences of their own actions. Pony, who narrates the tale as befits a godling turned minstrel, is a unique voice, at once wry and wise and haunted by the past she and Hedge share. We’re looking forward to sharing this amazing story with readers.