Amal El-Mohtar (Tordotcom; Arcadia)
Amal El-Mohtar has established herself as one of contemporary speculative fiction’s most lyrical and intellectually adventurous voices. Her work spans the genres with uncommon grace, weaving together mythology, ecology, and the intimate mathematics of human connection. Whether crafting intricate novellas or exploring the boundaries between science fiction and fantasy, El-Mohtar brings a poet’s precision to her prose—language that sings even as it grapples with profound existential questions. Her stories often inhabit liminal spaces, places where magic and science blur, where the personal and the cosmic become indistinguishable.
Her 2025 Nebula Award for Best Novella, won for The River Has Roots, marks a significant recognition of her distinctive vision. The novella exemplifies what readers and critics have come to expect from El-Mohtar: a work that operates on multiple registers simultaneously, rewarding both casual readers and those inclined to parse its deeper layers. Published through Tordotcom, The River Has Roots demonstrates her continued collaboration with publishers committed to experimental and boundary-pushing speculative work. This recognition underscores El-Mohtar’s standing as a writer whose influence extends beyond her individual publications, shaping conversations about what fantastical and futuristic fiction can achieve when craft and imagination are given equal weight.
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The River Has Roots,