CANR
WORK TITLE: Fyrebirds
WORK NOTES:
PSEUDONYM(S):
BIRTHDATE:
WEBSITE: https://www.katejarmstrong.com/home
CITY: Melbourn
STATE:
COUNTRY: Australia
NATIONALITY: American
LAST VOLUME:
RESEARCHER NOTES:
PERSONAL
Born in VA; married.
EDUCATION:Holds a master’s degree.
ADDRESS
CAREER
Writer and editor. Creator of the Exploress podcast, 2018—. Previously, worked as a high school teacher.
AVOCATIONS:Hiking, reading.
WRITINGS
SIDELIGHTS
Kate J. Armstrong is an American writer and editor based in Australia. She is also the creator of a podcast called the Exploress. Previously, Armstrong worked as a high school teacher.
Armstrong released her first novel, Nightbirds, in 2023. Set in a magical world, the book follows Matilde, who is part of a secret all-female magic society called the Nightbirds. All Nightbirds are expected to give their powers to male members of the Great Houses and to ultimately marry them and bear their children. Matilde and her two new friends, Sayer and Asa, survive an attack, which leads Matilde to question her society and its requirements. In a post she wrote on the School Library Journal website, Armstrong explained how seeing the image of a masked girl inspired her to write the book, stating: “I thought about how, in chasing alcohol into the shadows, Prohibition also created a dangerous underworld that made its own rules. And then I thought: what if, in that masked girl’s world, there was a Prohibition around magic? What if the rarest and most powerful kind wasn’t a commodity you could bottle, but something intrinsic to women? What would happen if a coveted, illegal, morally controversial power was something only girls could claim? That was how Nightbirds took shape.”
Critics offered favorable assessments of Nightbirds. Donna Scanlon, reviewer in Booklist, commented: “The novel is packed with memorable characters but never so much as to interfere with the riveting plot.” “With a pace that never flags and a harrowing, high-stakes plot, this distinguished read boasts texture, heft, and heart,” asserted a Publishers Weekly writer. A contributor to Kirkus Reviews described the volume as “an electrifying, high-stakes series opener grounded in feminist themes.” Candace Pruitt-Goddard, critic in WebOnlyReviewsSLJ, remarked: “With refreshingly original characters and lush language, this debut fantasy will leave readers clamoring for the sequel.”
BIOCRIT
PERIODICALS
Booklist, February 1, 2023, Donna Scanlon, review of Nightbirds, p. 54.
Kirkus Reviews, December 1, 2022, review of Nightbirds; July 1, 2024, review of Fyrebirds.
Publishers Weekly, January 2, 2023, review of Nightbirds, p. 54.
WebOnlyReviewsSLJ, June 16, 2023, Candyce Pruitt-Goddard, review of Nightbirds, p. 1.
ONLINE
Adams Literary website, https://www.adamsliterary.com/ (September 13, 2024), author profile.
Kate J. Armstrong website, https://www.katejarmstrong.com/ (September 13, 2024).
School Library Journal Online, https://teenlibrariantoolbox.com/ (February 28, 2023), article by author.
The short version…
Kate J. Armstrong is a former high school teacher and nonfiction book editor. Her internationally bestselling debut novel, NIGHTBIRDS, came out in 2023, and its sequel, FYREBIRDS, will come out in August 2024. She’s also the creator of The Exploress, a podcast about women in history. Originally from Virginia, she now calls Melbourne, Australia home.
The longer version…
Once upon a time, there was a girl who really liked telling stories. Whether it was a chapter book about a sassy pink dragon or an epic poem about her love for Batman, she was always writing something. Growing up in the bustle of northern Virginia, Kate was forever imagining herself into wilder and more magical worlds. After graduating college and NOT getting into grad school, she took some advice from two of her favorite teachers: she grabbed a backpack, bought a one-way plane ticket, and went off on an adventure. She’s never really looked back. She bummed around Europe, then wandered over to Australia, where she got a Masters degree in Journalism and started writing novels for real. She became a nonfiction book editor, working on travel guides and big, gorgeous coffee table books about everything from climbing Mount Everest to life in space to DIYing really nice confetti earrings. She also spent a few years as a high school English and creative writing teacher: best (and most challenging) job there is.
In 2018 she started The Exploress, a narrative podcast that goes time traveling through history to find out what life was like for women of the past. It regularly spends time on Apple Podcast’s Top 200 lists for history and educational shows in the USA, Australia, Europe, and beyond. Through it all, she never stopped writing novels: mostly Young Adult tales full of magic, history, romance, and a whole lot of drama. Her debut novel, NIGHTBIRDS, was published in 2023 to went on to become an international bestseller. Its sequel, FYREBIRDS, will follow in August 2024. When she’s not writing or in her recording booth, you will probably find her hiking mountains, baking brownies, hugging trees, finding excuses to dress up in historical attire, or reading way past her bedtime. She lives in Melbourne, Australia, with her husband.
Kate J Armstrong
Kate J. Armstrong has always had a fondness for adventure. After graduating college, she left her home state of Virginia and has never really looked back. She's explored many places and vocations, working as a high school English teacher and a nonfiction writer and editor for publishers such as National Geographic.
In 2018 she started The Exploress, a women's history podcast with a cult following and over half a million downloads. She is also the co-host of Pub Dates, a podcast that takes readers backstage to join her on the journey to publication for the book you're holding in your hands right now. When she's not writing or recording, you will find Kate hiking mountains, trying out cocktails, finding excuses to dress up in historical attire, or reading way past her bedtime. She lives in Melbourne, Australia, with her husband and their noble greyhound, Galahad.
Genres: Young Adult Fantasy
New and upcoming books
August 2024
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Fyrebirds
(Nightbirds , book 2)
Series
Nightbirds
1. Nightbirds (2023)
2. Fyrebirds (2024)
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QUOTED: "I thought about how, in chasing alcohol into the shadows, Prohibition also created a dangerous underworld that made its own rules. And then I thought: what if, in that masked girl’s world, there was a Prohibition around magic? What if the rarest and most powerful kind wasn’t a commodity you could bottle, but something intrinsic to women? What would happen if a coveted, illegal, morally controversial power was something only girls could claim? That was how Nightbirds took shape."
The Cages We Create, a guest post by Kate J. Armstrong
February 28, 2023 by Amanda MacGregor Leave a Comment
I was sipping a champagne cocktail in a 1920s-themed speakeasy and thinking about magic. Well, not magic, exactly, but an idea I’d had some months before. I’d had this image of an opulent room and a girl in a feathered mask, kissing a boy who had paid for the favor. She was giving him something else, too: magic. Why all the masks and the secrecy? I wondered. Why would she give away such a powerful piece of herself?
I was still asking that question in that bar in New York City. The place was clearly meant to transport you back in time to the 1920s, that time of sparkling flappers, sultry music, and shadowy, illicit feeling thrill. It had me thinking about that era’s Prohibition. The way the ban on booze made drinking dangerous, and thus accidentally made it glamorous, turning what had been a commonplace substance into a symbol of rebellion, decadence, and status. I thought about how the rich could often drink without much consequence, while those with less were often the ones who suffered most under the law. I thought about how, in chasing alcohol into the shadows, Prohibition also created a dangerous underworld that made its own rules.
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And then I thought: what if, in that masked girl’s world, there was a Prohibition around magic? What if the rarest and most powerful kind wasn’t a commodity you could bottle, but something intrinsic to women? What would happen if a coveted, illegal, morally controversial power was something only girls could claim?
That was how Nightbirds took shape. There are two types of magic in this world: alchemical and intrinsic. The first is conjured by alchemists, brewed up with plants and clever hands. It can be used as medicine, but also as recreation, distilled into cocktails that will let you speak another language for a handful of minutes or see more clearly in the dark. It is expensive, it effects fleeting, and deadly if brewed badly (much like 1920s bootleg). But the most valuable magic is intrinsic, passed through bloodlines and only found in young women.
Enter the Nightbirds, and specifically in this story, Matilde, Sayer, and Æsa: a secret group of girls who can gift their magic with just a kiss. And they do, for a price, gifting it back to the city’s Great Houses, who protect them from the religious zealots who would see them as blasphemous and from the Wardens who police the law. Prohibition wasn’t written to police these girls, exactly – such magic is thought by most to be extinct – but it also wasn’t built to protect them. Who knows what would happen if the wider world found out what they could do? The Great Houses know how valuable they are, and thus they keep their identities secret. The girls are expected to serve for a couple of seasons, then marry someone in the Great Houses and pass their magic on to future generations, making those families more influential and powerful than before. In return they are treasured, valued, and safe. All their lives, they have been given certain truths: secrecy is safety. The system was built to protect them. A Nightbird can only ever give her magic to others—never use it for herself. These rules are summed up in the secret phrase they often utter to each other: Fly carefully. But it isn’t long before Matilde, Sayer, and Æsa start to wonder if the rules they’ve been given might exploit rather than protect them, realizing it might just be a gilded cage. What would happen, I wondered, if they started questioning those rules, stopped giving their power away to others and started keeping it for themselves?
The Nightbirds system felt like a powerful means of exploring the cages girls in the real world so often finds themselves unwittingly pushed into. As I wrote this novel, I was thinking a lot about the frustrations, expectations, and limitations placed on girls; how often they are told to be nice, quiet, and accommodating, to fit into roles they didn’t ask for or make. It’s about how often girls with power and opinions are found threatening, even dangerous. The Nightbirds system gave me a chance to probe at issues of female power and agency, picking apart at the many ways in which we punish and shame girls for wanting to be loud and independent. It’s about girls pushing back against the structures designed to contain and control them. It’s also about finding strength in female friendship. So often we see girls pitted against each other, but I wanted my girls to find that their magic got stronger when they worked together. In friendship, and their growing bonds with other magical girls outside the Nightbirds system, they find a strength they didn’t have before.
Nightbirds is a fiercely feminist fantasy: a potent cocktail full of intrigue and glamor, but also questions about girls trying to claim their power and find their voices. I hope it’s one that will make readers feel the same thrill I did in that speakeasy, thinking about girls in feathered masks and the potential to be found in female power.
Meet the author
Kate J. Armstrong has always had a fondness for adventure. After graduating college, she left her home state of Virginia and has never really looked back. She’s explored many places and vocations, working as a high school English teacher and a nonfiction writer and editor for publishers such as National Geographic. In 2018, she started The Exploress, a women’s history podcast with a cult following and over half a million downloads. She is also the co-host of Pub Dates, a podcast that takes readers backstage to join her on the road to publication for her debut book, Nightbirds. When she’s not writing or recording, you will find Kate hiking mountains, crafting cocktails, finding excuses to dress up in historical attire, or reading way past her bedtime. She lives in Melbourne, Australia, with her husband and their noble greyhound, Galahad.
Links
Nightbirds: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/697068/nightbirds-by-kate-j-armstrong/
Author website: https://www.katejarmstrong.com
Pub Dates: https://pubdates.libsyn.com
Kate J. Armstrong spent her childhood in Washington, D.C. and Fairfax, Virginia furtively penning stories about foul-mouthed dragons and, this one time, an epic poem about her intense love for Batman. After getting a degree in English, two of her favorite high school teachers changed her life by convincing her to go on a solo adventure through Europe, where she fell in love with travel (and the charming Australian she later married).
She moved Down Under, where she went night diving with sharks, discovered her first rainforests, and developed a healthy fear of crocodiles. She also got a masters degree in journalism: her teachers tried to get her to pen hard-hitting articles, but she spent most of her time writing novels. She went on to be both a high school English teacher and nonfiction editor, working on beautiful books about nature, history, science and, this one time, Star Trek. Her writing has been published by National Geographic and others. All the while, she wrote stories full of magic and so many feelings.
When she isn’t writing novels you can find her hiking up mountains, producing her podcast about women in history, and reading way past her bedtime. She lives in Melbourne, Australia with her husband.
Check out her podcast, The Exploress.
Visit her Website | Follow her on X | Visit her Instagram
QUOTED: "The novel is packed with memorable characters but never so much as to interfere with the riveting plot."
Nightbirds. By Kate J. Armstrong. Feb. 2023. 480p. Penguin/Nancy Paulsen, $19.99 (9780593463277); paper, $12 (9780593619568). Gr. 9-12.
In Armstrong's intricate debut novel, magic is forbidden in the stratified theocracy in which the book is set, stemming from a time when girls born with magic were hunted and killed out of fear of their power. Despite this purge, girls are still born with magic and mostly try to suppress their ability. An exception to this are the Nightbirds, young women who can transfer their magic with a kiss. At the highest level of society, the Great Houses allow and protect the Nightbirds because they can't use their power for themselves, but their magic can benefit the members of the Great Houses. The current Nightbirds, Matilde, Sayer, and Thsa, are under threat from the religious leader, the Pontifex, as well as others intent on further exploiting their powers. The three are plunged into intrigue and driven into hiding, particularly since they have become able to fully use their magic. Armstrong's writing is remarkably lean and focused. She expertly weaves together the various subplots and characters without superfluous exposition. The three Nightbirds are distinct in their differences, but they have the capacity to unite seamlessly. Clearly, they come into their own, rejecting the attempts of potential love interests to control them. The novel is packed with memorable characters but never so much as to interfere with the riveting plot. Armstrong ends the novel with "To Be Continued." Bring it!--Donna Scanlon
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2023 American Library Association
http://www.ala.org/aboutala/offices/publishing/booklist/
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Scanlon, Donna. "Nightbirds." Booklist, vol. 119, no. 11, 1 Feb. 2023, p. 54. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A737696023/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=b11945d6. Accessed 24 Aug. 2024.
QUOTED: "With a pace that never flags and a harrowing, high-stakes plot, this distinguished read boasts texture, heft, and heart."
Kate J. Armstrong. Penguin/Paulsen, $19.99 (480p) ISBN 978-0-593-46327-7
In this dazzling, fiercely feminist novel, teen witches dubbed Nightbirds bestow temporary doses of their unique abilities via kiss on the wealthy, highborn men of Simta's Great Houses in exchange for protection from puritanical, magic-banning powers-that-be. A madam strictly regulates access to the girls, hiding their identities until they retire to marry a Great House man and birth a new generation. Mathilde, a veteran Nightbird, believes what she's always been told--that intrinsic magicis rare; that she must not wield her magic, only gift it; and that the system keeps her safe. Then, the first evening she works with two novice Nightbirds, street-savvy orphan Sayer and sheltered immigrant AEsa, a religious zealot launches a violent attack, sparking a chain of cataclysmic events both personal and political. Debut author Armstrong uses lush, seamlessly incorporated worldbuilding, kaleidoscopic third-person-present narration told via realistically rendered characters, and fraught queer and sttaight romantic subplots to explore issues of classism and misogyny. With a pace that never flags and a harrowing, high-stakes plot, this distinguished read boasts texture, heft, and heart. The protagonists cue as white; supporting characters have varying skin tones. Ages 12-up. (Feb.)
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2023 PWxyz, LLC
http://www.publishersweekly.com/
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"Nightbirds." Publishers Weekly, vol. 270, no. 1, 2 Jan. 2023, p. 54. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A733160547/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=83630972. Accessed 24 Aug. 2024.
QUOTED: "an electrifying, high-stakes series opener grounded in feminist themes."
Armstrong, Kate J. NIGHTBIRDS Nancy Paulsen Books (Teen None) $19.99 2, 28 ISBN: 978-0-593-46327-7
Opposing forces seek leverage in a world in which intrinsic magic, widely believed to have been eradicated, is traded in secret.
Long ago, women known as Fyrebirds wielded powerful, even deadly, magic. Accused of witchcraft and persecuted by the patriarchal church, the remaining Fyrebirds survived by concealing their abilities and marrying into the Great Houses, whose wealth and influence offered protection. Generations later, the Fyrebirds have passed into myth, while Nightbirds, their female descendants, are vessels for subtler abilities that they themselves cannot wield; instead, their abilities may be temporarily gifted to others through kisses. While the Great Houses continue to fiercely guard and regulate access to the Nightbirds' identities and gifts, those who fear--or have tasted--the Nightbirds' magic are determined to unmask them. Socialite Matilde has never questioned the system in which she participates; she enjoys having (and being) a rare secret. But soon after she's joined by street-wise Sayer and country girl Ãsa, two new Nightbirds, an attack in the Nightbirds' inner sanctum sets the three girls on a different path, one with massive personal and political implications. Their present-tense narrative perspectives establish clear distinctions between them as they navigate and boldly question the intersections of patriarchy, privilege, and fear that shape their world. Lush settings, careful worldbuilding, and taut exposition are seamlessly presented through the characters' internal observations. Main characters read White; queer identities are woven into the story.
An electrifying, high-stakes series opener grounded in feminist themes. (maps) (Fantasy. 12-18)
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2022 Kirkus Media LLC
http://www.kirkusreviews.com/
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"Armstrong, Kate J.: NIGHTBIRDS." Kirkus Reviews, 1 Dec. 2022, p. NA. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A729072612/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=ec9353d4. Accessed 24 Aug. 2024.
QUOTED: "With refreshingly original characters and lush language, this debut fantasy will leave readers clamoring for the sequel."
ARMSTRONG, Kate J. Nightbirds. 480p. Penguin/Nancy Paulsen. Feb. 2023. Tr $19.99. ISBN 9780593463277.
Gr 8 Up—Matilde, Æsa, and Sayer (ethnicities not stated) have only one thing in common: they are Nightbirds, blessed with magic from the wellspring. The Great Houses have kept them and the others before them a secret from the rest of Simta, where magic is outlawed. In return, the Nightbirds have a duty to kiss rich clients and in doing so, temporarily gift them with magical abilities. But with political unrest come many threats to the Nightbirds' safety, and they are forced into hiding. With secrets and betrayals lurking around every corner, only one thing is certain—the Nightbirds must stick together to survive the political upheaval, and zealots who want them dead for the magic they possess. The dazzling world-building is reminiscent of Stephanie Garber's Caraval. The plot is full of secrets, betrayals, and twists that will make readers reluctant to set the book down for any length of time. The characters are all believable and relatable, with strengths and weaknesses to boot, and the story is laced with just enough romance.
VERDICT: With refreshingly original characters and lush language, this debut fantasy will leave readers clamoring for the sequel.—Candyce Pruitt-Goddard
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2023 Library Journals, LLC
http://www.libraryjournal.com/lj/reviews/xpress/884170-289/xpress_reviews-first_look_at_new.html.csp
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Pruitt-Goddard, Candyce. "Nightbirds." WebOnlyReviewsSLJ, vol. 69, no. 6, 16 June 2023, p. 1. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A758086220/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=e5f0c093. Accessed 24 Aug. 2024.
Armstrong, Kate J. FYREBIRDS Nancy Paulsen Books (Teen None) $19.99 8, 27 ISBN: 9780593463307
In this sequel to Nightbirds (2023), the existence of intrinsic magic is no longer a secret--but girls who possess it face an uncertain future.
Several months have passed since Matilde, Sayer, Ãsa, and Fen escaped the Red Hand, a fanatical religious cult leader, by channeling elemental magic like the Fyrebirds of old. The four new Fyrebirds are now physically and emotionally distanced, however. In the Illish Isles, Ãsa secretly practices amplifying fledgling girls' abilities and wrestles with her family's traditional expectations. In Simta, cunning Great House daughter Matilde leverages her now-public identity as the Flame Witch into a strategic alliance in hopes of swaying public opinion to protect magical girls. Sayer is busy rescuing exploited magical girls, "terrorizing" the Great House lords, and avoiding her feelings for Fen. Meanwhile, Fen is focused on acquiring more witchbane to suppress the magic and the PTSD-like flashbacks it triggers. As rumors swirl about magical girls disappearing, the Fyrebirds learn of Sugar, a mysterious new drug engineered to make them more "biddable." But another threat looms as the king of Trellane sets sail for Simta. The fast-paced plot and resonant emotional beats organically explore pervasive, harmful patriarchal and misogynistic beliefs, choice and control, and resistance and revenge. Brief interstitials present vignettes from secondary characters' perspectives and ephemera that further the immersive worldbuilding. The leads read white; the cast overall is broadly diverse in representation.
Heart-pounding action and romance anchor timely themes of agency and self-actualization. (map) (Fantasy. 12-18)
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2024 Kirkus Media LLC
http://www.kirkusreviews.com/
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"Armstrong, Kate J.: FYREBIRDS." Kirkus Reviews, 1 July 2024, p. NA. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A799332882/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=4c579ad6. Accessed 24 Aug. 2024.