Danai Christopoulou (they/them) was raised on a diet of myths and tragedies instead of fairytales. A journalist and copywriter by trade, Danai s writing has appeared in Glamour, Marie Claire, khoreo, Fusion Fragment, Flame Tree Press and more. They have also been nominated for a Pushcart Prize and for a Best of Small Fictions and long-listed for a Nebula Award. Vile Lady Villains is Danai s debut novel. Growing up amid the ancient ruins of Athens, Greece, Danai currently haunts a forest in Sweden along with an army of cats, chickens, and a kind Swedish man.
""Vile Lady Villains is a stunningly original novel, dense and dark and overwhelmingly magical. It's a daring blend of borrowed stories, recreating characters we thought we knew, and giving them the full, unfettered life they deserve. Lovers of Shakespeare and Greek myth will be enchanted.""--Louisa Morgan, The Faerie Morgana ""Brilliantly clever and wickedly tender, this is a delightful feast for anyone who adores literature. Christopoulou weaves a masterful tapestry of iconic stories, while challenging both characters and readers to imagine a new ending entirely, changing them from a tragedy to a comedy.""--Lauren Dedroog, author of A Curse of Crows and A Dance of Serpents ""Cathartic and deeply romantic, Vile Lady Villains is the iconic queen crossover of my dreams! Claret and Anassa's empowering journey through harrowing trials, innovative dreamscapes, and murky choices builds like a fever breaking into a celebration of vicious women, second chances, and taking control of your story.""--Leanne Schwartz, author of A Prayer for Vengeance and To a Darker Shore ""Danai Christopoulou's Vile Lady Villains is part classical theatre compressed into a jewel-box of metafiction, part living painting: its palette supersaturated with passion, poetry, and portent. Her familiar protagonists, Claret and Anassa, like two firebirds of blood and spirit, arise entwined from the wreckage of their own tragic narratives, pursued by fates, furies, and the chance at something better.""--C. S. E. Cooney, World Fantasy Award-winning author of Saint Death's Daughter"" ""In confident, luscious prose, Christopoulou creates an enthralling liminal quest, where two of literature's most infamous female villains reclaim their stories--and fall irrevocably in love. I was spellbound from the very first page and could hardly breathe as the ending neared. Heart-rending, atmospheric and unmissable.""--Kika Hatzopoulou, Sunday Times bestselling author of Threads That Bind