Kingfisher

SHORTLISTED FOR THE 2026 WOMEN'S PRIZE FOR FICTION

An electrifying debut novel about grief, power and desire - and the tangles in between that make up a life.

When a creative writing academic becomes infatuated with his colleague - the poet - it is not long before it begins to threaten his relationship with his partner, Michael. Michael is beautiful. Michael is safe. But the poet is everything he isn't; she has everything he wants.

While he writes about steel and sex, she dreams about the movements of swallows. While he tends to his budding career, she writes from her big, white house in the woods. As he slips between his old life and this new one, his fixation grows into something more powerful. The poet, his Kingfisher, is his sole focus. He is hypnotised. But when simultaneous illnesses intrude, he is forced to confront the consequences of his choices.

Kingfisher is a beautifully crafted novel of queer desire and power, grief and creativity, and the fine lines between obsession and tender care.