About Kel

Kel E Fox has short stories and poetry published with Deadset Press, Breach zine and the Canberra Speculative Fiction Guild. Their first short story, ‘The Inheritance Experiment’, won an editor’s choice award in 2018.

In 2021, Kel released their debut novel, Darkhaven. It’s the first of a contemporary fantasy saga about a 17-year-old girl who gets struck by lightning, develops superpowers, stumbles into a global conspiracy and meets an alien god — all in the same day.

Kel was shortlisted for a 2023 Plaza Prize (SFF First Chapters).

In addition to reading and writing, Kel enjoys painting, ballroom dancing, Magic the Gathering and eating chocolate. They live in Perth, Australia with their partner, a wilful Alaskan Malamute named after Nighteyes and a scruffy cat called Molly (a total coincidence). Needless to say, the house is more fur than anything else.

Influences

A.K.A. my favourite reads!

While I don’t presume that I’ve managed to imbue my work with the same sort of genius I admire in others’ work, style is largely a matter of soaking up material and forming new interpretations from it. Here’s what I enjoy, which can either serve as a list of books you might like to read, or maybe an indication of whether you’ll like mine, assuming I’ve produced a somewhat similar style.

  • The Realm of the Elderlings by Robin Hobb
  • Creature Court, Belladonna U and Castle Charming by Tansy Rayner Roberts
  • The Scorpio Races, the Raven Cycle and the Dreamer trilogy by Maggie Stiefvater
  • Shades of Magic by V. E. Schwab
  • The Lightbringer series by Brent Weeks
  • The Arc of a Scythe by Neal Shusterman
  • Harry Potter by J. K. Rowling
  • The Grishaverse (specifically the duologies) by Leigh Bardugo
  • The Study series by Maria V. Snyder
  • Folk of the Air by Holly Black
  • Discworld by Terry Pratchett

Books I love by authors I adore, but completionist readers be warned: these series have remained unfinished for extended periods:

  • Kingkiller Chronicles by Patrick Rothfuss
  • Gentleman Bastards by Scott Lynch
  • Legendsong saga by Isobelle Carmody