CL HELLISEN & RAFAEL TORRUBIA: An Evening of Fantasy

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Join us for an evening of epic fantasy, as authors CL Hellisen and Rafael Torrubia discuss ancient feuds, gods, apocalyptic and dark magic, and their latest novels The Shape of Monsters and The Shipwright and the Shroudweaver. They will be in conversation with fellow fantasy writer Katalina Watt, author of the instant Sunday Times Bestselling novel Saltswept.

About the books:
The Shipwright and the Shroudweaver by Rafael Torrubia
No one remembers the calamity that killed the gods and stole the names of their people. Now Shipwright and Shroudweaver are known only by their professions.

She's a master of magical shipbuilding. He's a maker of the gilded gods that fuel their sails, stitched from the souls of dead sailors.

When a chance to save their world calls the veterans back to shore, they decide they'll stop at nothing to vanquish the ultimate evil, embarking on a deadly race against time to beat the grief-wracked sorceress known as Crowkisser to the notorious mountain kingdom in the legend-infested north before she unleashes the ancient power entombed at its heart - the one waiting to finish what it started.

The Shape of Monsters by CL Hellisen
A gripping tale of a descent into darkness as two siblings enter a world of magic, secrets and twisted loyalties – for those who loved Starling House by Alix E. Harrow, Gallant by V. E. Schwab and A Study in Drowning by Ava Reid.

A lost heir inherits her House’s wild magic.
Her feckless brother inherits nothing.

When a magical fire destroyed their family as children, Aleks and Vaira Kercheval escaped. Born to a world where power was everything, they’ve hidden from it all their lives. Then a letter arrives stating that Vaira has inherited Aubrey House, a decaying Gothic mansion full of dark, wild magic.

The estranged siblings haven’t spoken for years. But together, they return to their ancestral home, where crossing the threshold plunges them into a realm of shadows and ancient feuds. As the pair are drawn into a war between rival mages, the powerless Aleks accidentally summons and binds a monstrous prince from the Void – a creature of immense power. His gifted sister must learn to unleash her inner fire as the lines between human and monster blur. But can they survive the darkness that is to come?

From acclaimed author CL Hellisen, The Shape of Monsters is a treasure trove of dark magic, demonic possession and family secrets, where betrayals linger and power corrupts.

About our authors:
Rafael Torrubia grew up split between Spain and Scotland. As a recovering historian, they studied at the University of St. Andrews, exploring the linkages between plantation folksongs and the protest songs of the civil rights movement, and examining the cultural inheritances of the Black Power movement. They currently work part-time at the University supporting postgraduate students, and deliver creative writing workshops across Scotland.

CL Hellisen lives somewhere between Scotland and the Hypnagog. Their short stories and poems have appeared in The Magazine of Science Fiction and Fantasy, Apex, Strange Horizons, Giganotosaurus and others. Their British Fantasy Award-winning novel The Shape of Monsters is a dark, gothic fantasy where two siblings are slowly corrupted by the magic they think will save them. They like following rivers through cities, and drinking in pubs with crows carved into the beams and pictures of imaginary saints on the walls.

About our chair:
Katalina Watt is the author of instant Sunday Times Bestselling novel Saltswept (2026, Hodderscape). They were selected as 2024 Writer in Residence for Konstkollektivet in Sweden and granted a 2025 Literature Matters Award from Royal Society of Literature. They were a finalist for 2023 Hugo Award for Best Semiprozine as founding Audio Director for khōréō. They are a Writing Coach at The Novelry and represented by Christabel McKinley at David Higham Associates.