A. J. Hackwith is the author of Goblin Market, out tomorrow from Ace. Below, they recommend three goblin-cozy fantasy books.
I like a goblin kind of cozy. A cozy that is twigs in your hair and a chip in your favorite mug. That’s why I wrote a fantasy that explores the lore of the Goblin Market from the perspective of a goblin changeling named Toast. If all the cozy fantasy books had a house party, you’d find Goblin Market squatting on the back steps, befriending a feral tom cat and snacking on cherries to see how far we can shoot the pits. Goblin cozy is unpredictable, scrappy, often queer, and sometimes feral but anchored by a resilient heart. If that’s your kind of cozy, then I have some great recommendations for what to read after Goblin Market:
The House in the Cerulean Sea by TJ Klune
Queer found families (for every definition of queer) are at the heart of a good cozy fantasy for me. You can’t ask for better than The House in the Cerulean Sea, with an orphanage for magical youth. The residents include an excitable blob that wants to be a bellhop when he grows up, a were-Pomeranian, and possibly the anti-Christ. But the heart of the house is their caretaker Arthur, and his growing relationship with Linus, the reluctant government worker who is supposed to decide their fates. Read this one with tea and a little treat.
The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches by Sangu Mandanna
If there’s one thing goblins love, it’s misfits and eccentric found family. Mandanna’s novel has both. If you’re looking for a cozy fantasy with plenty of witchery and colorful characters, the residents of Nowhere House are for you. Witch Mika is drawn there for the job of teaching three magical girls. Bonus: there’s a grumpy librarian, which automatically raises a star in my book.
A Psalm for the Wild-Built by Becky Chambers
There’s an essence to goblins that requires things to be just a little earthy—shabby around the edges, close to some good dirt, maybe a little wild. That’s why I’d argue Becky Chambers’s tale of a wandering tea monk and the curious robot he encounters on the road is an excellent goblin-cozy fantasy. Chambers’s novel is an excellent antidote for modern heartache, and best enjoyed somewhere green.
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A. J. Hackwith (she/they) is a cryptid of the Pacific Northwest. She’s a queer writer of speculative fiction, the acclaimed LIBRARY OF THE UNWRITTEN fantasy trilogy, TOTO, and the up-coming GOBLIN MARKET. She is a Viable Paradise writer’s workshop alumni and her work appears in Uncanny Magazine and assorted anthologies. Summon A.J. at your own peril with an arcane circle of fountain pens, sparkly dice, and freshly spilled ink. Or you can find A.J. on Instagram, Patreon and other dark corners of the Internet as @ajhackwith.
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