C.L. Polk’s Witchmark is one of the most delightful debut fantasy novels to come along in years. Set in an imagined country bearing a striking resemblance to early 20th century England—with the addition of real magic, fae curses, and thrilling bicycle chases—it nodded to beloved tropes while leaving its own unique, er, mark on the genre with its story of processing trauma, grappling with familial obligations, sweet queer romance, and magical murder mystery. We fairly loved it, but don’t take our world for it—earlier this month, Polk took home the World Fantasy Award for the novel amid a very competitive field, only raising expectations for what the writer will do next.

We already know about her upcoming Witchmark sequel Stormsong—but what’s to come after that? Well, today we’re pleased to share an exciting announcement from Polk and the team at Erewhon Books, who will be publishing publishing her third novel, The Midnight Bargain, in Fall 2020.

Below, we share your first look at the novel, and dig into it in more detail via a Q&A with the author—whose name is Chelsea—and her editor, Sarah Guan.

First, here’s a teaser for the book:

In a world in which married women’s magic is taken from them to protect the lives of their unborn children, a young woman must balance her desire to become the first great female magician against her duty to secure a rich husband who can discharge her family’s debts. Beatrice Clayborn is a sorceress practicing her magic in secret, terrified of the day she will marry and be locked into a warding collar that will cut off her magic to protect her unborn children from spirit possession. She dreams of becoming a full-fledged Magus, permitted to join the Chapterhouse and pursue magic as her calling just as men do. But her family has traveled to the city for Bargaining Season, when young men and women of means socialize and negotiate to secure the best marriages. The Clayborn family is in severe debt, and she is expected to save them all by making an advantageous match. In a stroke of luck, Beatrice finds a grimoire that would allow her to summon a Greater Spirit, a dangerous feat which—if successful—would make her a Magus. But before she can purchase it, a rival sorceress swindles the book right out of her hands. Beatrice summons a minor spirit to help her get it back, but the spirit’s price is Beatrice’s first kiss—with the rival sorceress’s brother, the handsome and understanding Ianthe Lavan. As Beatrice becomes more entangled with the Lavans, the choices that once seemed clear become harder: if she attempts the spell to become a Magus, she will devastate her family and destroy her chance to be with the man she loves; but if she marries, even for love, she will lose her magic, her dreams, and everything that makes her who she is. Beatrice must choose one—and regret the other forever.

Chelsea, can you speak a little about what inspired The Midnight Bargain? What were your influences and the themes you wanted to explore?

Chelsea: The Midnight Bargain actually began as a quick writing exercise we used to call the picture game. It’s simple—you get an interesting photo and about ten minutes to write about it. I found a photo that looked like the aisle of a used bookstore just jammed with books, and in describing them, I made a young woman combing through the stacks on the shelves and the floor to find the one book her magic promised her was there, a book of magic she had been seeking for years. What was the magic, and why did she want it?

I didn’t know, so I put it away until I started thinking about reproductive rights and hereditary magic, came to a terrible realization, and then I knew exactly what the young woman in the bookstore wanted with that grimoire. The story just kind of happened, after that.

Sarah, reading the novel on submission, what were a few things you were drawn to? What made you fall in love with this story?

Sarah: In my initial read, I was drawn to exactly this—Chelsea’s incredibly clever and incisive critique of both the current unfortunate state of legal limbo of reproductive rights in our world and the often problematic, often unquestioned trope of hereditary power in the fantasy genre. But furthermore, all this insight was wrapped up in the gorgeous and witty trappings of a fantasy of manners, which was so entertaining that I devoured the whole manuscript in a couple of days. As the best stories all do, The Midnight Bargain humanizes otherwise overwhelming issues and it challenged me to think about the world more deeply and critically. What more could I ask for in my first acquisition at Erewhon?

Chelsea, what was about it Sarah and the Erewhon team that drew you in? Likewise Sarah, what did you see in Chelsea’s work that gave you the confidence she’d be a great fit for Erewhon?

Chelsea: The Midnight Bargain is an odd bird—it’s definitely a fantasy novel, with a complex magic system that has a significant impact on society. But it’s [also] definitely a book that takes a fantasy trope that goes largely unquestioned in many novels and puts it under a magnifying glass,[examining] the way hereditary magical power would tend to lead to all sorts of power imbalances that could apply to the way we live today. The Midnight Bargain is about magic, love, and power, and it bends genre in a way that my agent and I thought Sarah would appreciate. As it turns out, Erewhon is a great fit for this book and the kind of stories I like to write.

Sarah: Before diving into the novel, I was already familiar with Chelsea as a writer of great promise. The Midnight Bargain exceeded all the expectations I had for her, and fits Erewhon’s core mission of [publishing] genrebending, socially aware, top-shelf speculative fiction. (Also, every editor dreams of editorial conversations of the quality of our initial phone call.)

Chelsea, congratulations on the World Fantasy Award for Best Novel for Witchmark! How are you feeling after such an amazing win? And Sarah, if you care to speculate, what do you think World Fantasy Award voters will love about this new work?

Chelsea: Thank you! I’m completely dazzled. I still check over my shoulder to make sure the award is still there.

Sarah: The World Fantasy Awards have a history of recognizing works of literary merit and speculative imagination that add something important to the cultural discourse. I’m certain that its voters will love not only Chelsea’s signature prose style, but also The Midnight Bargain‘s vivid and well-considered worldbuilding, exquisitely-drawn characters, and subversive feminist themes.

If either of you could pick one favorite character or moment from the new novel that you can’t wait for readers to discover, who are they or what is it?

Chelsea: [The moment when] Beatrice Clayborn meets Ysbeta and Ianthe Lavan. It’s very early in the story, as those are the principal characters, but when I started writing Ysbeta I knew I had a real story on my hands.

Sarah: One of my favorite scenes comes a little later in the story, so I’ll be circumspect: it takes place at a picnic at the height of courtship season and shows off the main characters’ personalities and builds tension in particularly witty and seamlessly, natural ways. This is a moment that only a master of both clever banter and character development could pull off, and Chelsea nails it.

What other work can we expect from you two in the future?

Chelsea: I’m still exploring the possibilities! I can give some hints… I have more than one idea in mind, so this is a selection that won’t spoil any particular story: I’m interested in women’s colleges in New England, large population centers administered by multi agent AI systems, the complications of multi-person telepathic links, the art of opera, and locked room mysteries.

Sarah: We’re still working on The Midnight Bargain, but I can’t wait to discuss all of Chelsea’s ideas for subsequent novels. I anticipate more speculative works that are thoughtful, beautifully written, and of course, challenging in the best of ways. Stay tuned!

The Midnight Bargain arrives next fall. In the meantime, C.L. Polk’s Stormsong is out from Tor.com Publishing in February 2020.