C. L. Polk is the author of the World Fantasy Award winning novel Witchmark, the first novel of the Kingston Cycle. After leaving high school early, they have worked as a film extra, sold vegetables on the street, and identified exotic insect species for a vast collection of lepidoptera before settling down to write silver fork fantasy novels. Polk lives near the Bow River in Calgary, Alberta, in a tiny apartment with too many books and a yarn stash that could last a decade. They ride a green bicycle with a basket on the front. They spend too much time on Twitter.
An NPR Best Speculative Fiction Book of 2022! Stylish supernatural noir with a heart and a thrumming pulse. I devoured it. --Laini Taylor This is a must-read for those who like their queer fantasy with a little grit and a lot of soul (pun intended). --Booklist, starred review Even Though I Knew the End rockets along from the very first page, with the details of author C.L. Polk's alternate Chicago revealing themselves exactly when required. --BookPage, starred review Even Though I Knew the End is Polk at the height of their considerable powers: romance, enchantment, tragedy, and courage to the bitter end. --Elizabeth Bear Readers who fell into recent Jazz Age urban fantasies...will love Polk's latest. --Library Journal, starred review Bracing as a slug of bourbon, with a twist of pain on the drop--or is that hope? Polk's back with a cold-eyed winner. --Max Gladstone C.L. Polk twists the hardboiled detective subgenre into something new and fresh and enticingly queer. ...[Even Though I Knew the End is] a thrilling, charming novella. --Tor.com Vivid and charming with a touch of noir edge, but way more heart. --Rebecca Roanhorse A layered exploration of love and power with genuine emotional stakes and a soaring, perfectly bittersweet payoff. It's another winner. --Publishers Weekly