Katherine Arden is the author of the New York Times, USA Today and internationally bestselling Winternight Trilogy: The Bear and the Nightingale, The Girl in the Tower, and The Winter of the Witch, three historical fantasy novels set in medieval Russia. She is also the author of the Small Spaces Quartet, a middle grade horror series, whose titles include Small Spaces, Dead Voices, Dark Waters and Empty Smiles. Arden’s work has been translated into over twenty languages, and all her work has been optioned for film. Her newest novel, The Warm Hands of Ghosts (February 2024), is a national bestseller and a beautiful historical novel with a speculative twist. Katherine’s picture book debut, The Strangest Fish (September 2024), is a bewitching story about a girl who wins an odd-looking goldfish at a county fair that ends up being secretly magical.
Born in Austin, Texas, she has studied Russian in Moscow, taught at a school in the French Alps, and worked on a farm in Hawaii. She currently lives in Vermont with her husband and her dog, where she grows a gigantic garden, hikes and skis.
The Bear and the Nightingale was named the best science fiction and fantasy novel of 2017 by Amazon, and nominated for an Astounding award, a Locus award, a Vermont Book Award. It was a finalist for both best debut and best fantasy at the Goodreads Choice awards. The Winternight Trilogy was also nominated for a Hugo for Best Series.
R.L Stine called Arden’s middle grade debut, Small Spaces, “terrifying and fun.” It was named a best book of 2018 by Kirkus, Publisher’s Weekly, and the Chicago Public Library system, as well as being nominated for student book awards in over twenty states. Small Spaces was also the winner of Vermont’s Golden Dome Award and Kansas’ William Allen White Award.
