Emily Tesh

Emily Tesh is a science fiction and fantasy author. She won the 2024 Hugo Award for Best Novel for her first novel, Some Desperate Glory.

Tesh attended Trinity College, Cambridge and the University of Chicago. She lives in Hertfordshire and is a school classics teacher.

Writing career Tesh's first published works were the novellas Silver in the Wood and Drowned Country, in the Greenhollow Duology. Silver in the Wood is an adaptation of the Green Man English tale. Author Katharine Coldiron described it as an "utterly enchanting" tale centering queer romance and nature writing. The story won the 2020 World Fantasy Award for Best Novella.

Tesh's next novel, The Incandescent, was released in May 2025. It is a fantasy novel following Dr. Walden, who is Director of Magic at a British boarding school. In handling the demonic mistakes of her students and her own missteps, Dr. Walden is forced to question and confront her own self-image. Publishers Weekly gave it a starred review, describing it as a "thoughtful exploration of privilege, power, and private school education." Critic Liz Bourke described it as a brilliant novel, "that marries the energy and verve and peril of the best of the fantasy genre with the understated, literary examination of interior and professional lives". Crawford Award — World Fantasy Award Novella 2021 Astounding Award for Best New Writer —

Arthur C. Clarke Award — Hugo Award Novel Locus Award First Novel Ursula K. Le Guin Prize — 2025

Nebula Award Novel

Hugo Award Novel Locus Award Fantasy Novel Mythopoeic Award Adult Literature Some Desperate Glory Seiun Award Translated Novel Selected publications Greenhollow Duology Silver in the Wood, (2019, Tor: ) Drowned Country, (2020, Tor: ) Some Desperate Glory, (2023, Orbit: ) The Incandescent, (2025, Tor: )