Get your first peek at the next novel from Shona Kinsella, coming from Flame Tree in November!
We asked Shona Kinsella—who also happens to be the Chair of the British Fantasy Society, so we didn’t have far to go for the chat!—to tell us more about her forthcoming novel Daughters of Nicnevin, and its beautiful cover art by Finnish artist Broci. Here’s what Shona said.
Tell us about the book
Daughters of Nicnevin is set against the backdrop of the 1745 Jacobite uprising, and the final days of the Scottish witch trials. It tells the story of two witches who are left to hold a community together when most of the village’s men go off to fight in the uprising. As well as the difficulties of working the land and feeding themselves over the coming winter, the villagers face threats from both the Black Watch and raiders, and the women are confronted with their vulnerability. They enlist the help of Nicnevin, fae queen of witches, to bring men made of earth to life to help protect their village. But just who do they need protection from? And what will happen when the village men return?
The central idea for this book came to me as a result of the online workshop that Tiffani Angus did for the BFS on writing historical fantasy, so it feels very much like a BFS baby.
Tell us about the cover
This gorgeous cover was designed by Broci, who also did the cover for my last novel, The Heart of Winter. I really adore their work, and they always seem to capture the themes and flavour of my books so well. You can check out more of Broci’s work here: Art of Broci
What do we need to know before we read this one?
Nothing! This is a standalone novel, though it does feature Nicnevin, the fae queen of witches, who also appears in The Heart of Winter. There are no shared plot lines, just a character I keep coming back to.
When/where/how can we get it?
The book will be released on 11 November 2025 (there may be early copies at World Fantasy Convention in Bright at the start of November) and is available for pre-order now at all the usual places.
More about the writer: Shona Kinsella
Shona Kinsella is the author of the epic fantasy series The Vessel of KalaDene , dark Scottish fantasy Petra MacDonald and the Queen of the Fae, and the British Fantasy Award shortlisted industrial fantasy The Flame and the Flood, as well as the non-fiction Outlander and the Real Jacobites: Scotland’s Fight for Freedom.
She was editor of the British Fantasy Society’s fiction publication BFS Horizons for four years and has been Chair of the British Fantasy Society since September 2021.
Shona is an avid reader with a love for language and is most often to be found with her nose in a book. She has worked in varied industries, from acting to the civil service, and has a degree in law from the University of Strathclyde.
Visit her website, or follow her on BlueSky: @shonak.bsky.social.
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