Esmie Jikiemi-Pearson for Gutterwitch

We are delighted to be joined by Esmie Jikiemi-Pearson in the bookshop to celebrate the release of her latest book, the sweeping, romantic, and richly inventive, Gutterwitch.

MAGIC WILL NOT BE CONTROLLED - AND NEITHER WILL SHE.

Scullery maid Joan has always known her place. Bound in service to a powerful witching house, she is maid and companion to Belinda, their treasured heir. But when she stumbles upon a fallen star and makes an impossible wish, she becomes a most fearsome and forbidden thing: a witch with wild magic.

When Joan and Belinda are invited to study at an elite university, Joan is swept into a world of ancient academia, ruthless politics, and intoxicating power. Shunned for her lack of lineage, her magic nonetheless flourishes - and she is drawn to Silas, her enigmatic mentor, and Caspar, a fellow outcast and the bastard son of a faerie queen.

As Joan's powers grow, she is thrust into a web of secrets that threatens the fragile peace between witches and fae. With her heart and loyalties divided, Joan stands at the front lines of a war that will shape her destiny - and the fate of witchkind forever.

Gutterwitch is the first book in a sweeping romantic fantasy duology about wild magic, found family, and the price of power. Perfect for readers of Naomi Novik's Uprooted, Wicked, and dark academia fantasy.

ESMIE JIKIEMI-PEARSON is the author of the Sunday Times bestselling and TikTok award-nominated novel, The Principle of Moments. She was the inaugural winner of the Future Worlds Prize and serves as a trustee for a UNESCO City of Literature. She writes about characters at the intersection of identities and holds a BA in English Literature and Classical Studies.