C. L. Polk

Chelsea Louise Polk (born 1969) is a Canadian author of fantasy fiction, best known for the debut novel Witchmark which won the World Fantasy Award in 2019. A blend of murder mystery and fantasy, Witchmark is a set in a gaslamp secondary world and is followed by two sequels, Stormsong and Soulstar.

Life and career
Polk was born in 1969 in New Westminster, British Columbia and grew up in Surrey and Edmonton. Polk is non-binary and has referred to their gender as a "lava lamp." They began writing in their thirties, publishing short fiction in magazines such as Abyss & Apex in the early 2000s. Polk was influenced by the works of fantasy author Tanith Lee, in particular the Tales from the Flat Earth, the historical mystery and fantasy novels of Barbara Hambly, and the Valdemar novels by Mercedes Lackey.

Polk's first novel Witchmark, featuring a murder mystery set in an alternate history Edwardian England, was written in 2014 and published in 2018. Witchmark won the World Fantasy Award for Best Novel, and received nominations for several awards including the Nebula and Locus Awards. In 2019, Polk was listed by the CBC as one of "19 Canadian writers to watch".

Witchmark is the first book of the Kingston Cycle, with the sequel Stormsong listed by CBC Books as among the Canadian fiction to watch for in 2020. The third and concluding book of the series, Soulstar, was published in 2021. Other works by Polk include a historical fantasy set in Regency era England, The Midnight Bargain, which was nominated for several speculative fiction prizes and was a contender in the 2021 edition of Canada Reads.

Even Though I Knew the End, a period novella set in early 1900s Chicago about a damned woman fighting for a chance to be with the woman she loves, was nominated for multiple major awards and won the Nebula Award. Polk expressed surprise at the flood of nominations, saying that they didn't think it was "an award book."

In 2023, Polk underwent treatment with ketamine and blogged about their experience. Their intent was to manage Complex Post Traumatic Stress Disorder impacting their life and writing career.

As of 2020, Polk resides in Calgary, Alberta.