Cherae Clark, also known under the pen name C. L. Clark, is an American author and editor of

speculative fiction Speculative fiction is a term that has been used with a variety of (sometimes contradictory) meanings. The broadest interpretation is as a category of fiction encompassing genres with elements that do not exist in reality, recorded history, na ...

, a personal trainer, and an English teacher. She graduated from Indiana University's creative writing MFA and was a 2012

Lambda Literary The Lambda Literary Foundation (also known as Lambda Literary) is an American LGBT literature, LGBTQ literary organization whose mission is to nurture and advocate for LGBTQ writers, elevating the impact of their words to create community, prese ...

Fellow. TheirClark uses she/her and they/them pronouns, which will be used in this article debut novel, '' The Unbroken'', first book of the ''Magic of the Lost'' trilogy, was published by Orbit Books in 2021 and received critical acclaim, including starred reviews at ''

Publishers Weekly ''Publishers Weekly'' (''PW'') is an American weekly trade news magazine targeted at publishers, librarians, booksellers, and literary agents. Published continuously since 1872, it has carried the tagline, "The International News Magazine of B ...

'' and ''

Library Journal ''Library Journal'' is an American trade publication for librarians. It was founded in 1876 by Melvil Dewey. It reports news about the library world, emphasizing public libraries, and offers feature articles about aspects of professional prac ...

''. '' The Unbroken'' was a Finalist for the 2021 Nebula Award for Best Novel, the 2022 Robert Holdstock Award for Best Fantasy Novel from the

British Fantasy Awards The British Fantasy Awards (BFA) are awarded annually by the British Fantasy Society (BFS), first in 1976. Prior to that they were known as The August Derleth Fantasy Awards (see August Derleth Award). First awarded in 1972 (to ''The Knight of S ...

, the 2022

Ignyte Award The Ignyte Awards are an annual literary award for the best science fiction, fantasy, and horror works and achievements of the previous year. Established in 2020 by writers L. D. Lewis and Suzan Palumbo as an off-shoot of '' FIYAH Literary Maga ...

for Best Novel - Adult, and the 2022

Locus Award for Best First Novel The Locus Award for Best First Novel is one of the annual Locus Awards presented by the science fiction and fantasy magazine ''Locus''. Awards presented in a given year are for works published in the previous calendar year. The award for Best Firs ...

. Her work has appeared in '' Beneath Ceaseless Skies,'' '' FIYAH Literary Magazine of Black Speculative Fiction'', ''Glitter + Ashes: Queer Tales of a World That Wouldn't Die'', ''

PodCastle ''PodCastle'' is a weekly audio fantasy fiction podcast. They release audio performances of fantasy short fiction, including all the subgenres of fantasy, including magical realism, urban fantasy, slipstream, high fantasy, and dark fantasy. As ...

'', '' Tor.com'', ''

Uncanny The uncanny is the psychological experience of something as not simply mysterious, but creepy, often in a strangely familiar way. It may describe incidents where a familiar thing or event is encountered in an unsettling, eerie, or taboo context. ...

,'' and ''

The Year's Best African Speculative Fiction ''The Year's Best African Speculative Fiction'' is an anthology of African speculative fiction edited by Oghenechovwe Donald Ekpeki. Background Ekpeki was inspired to publish the book after the positive reception of his earlier African specula ...

(2021)''. Clark edited, with series editor Charles Payseur, ''We're Here: The Best Queer Speculative Fiction of 2020'', which won the 2022

for Best Anthology/Collected Work and the 2022

Locus Award The Locus Awards are an annual set of literary awards voted on by readers of the science fiction and fantasy magazine ''Locus'', a monthly magazine based in Oakland, California. The awards are presented at an annual banquet. In addition to the pl ...

for Best Anthology.

Biography

C. L. Clark earned an MFA in creative writing from

Indiana University Bloomington Indiana University Bloomington (IU Bloomington, Indiana University, IU, or simply Indiana) is a public university, public research university in Bloomington, Indiana. It is the flagship university, flagship campus of Indiana University and, with ...

, was a 2012

Fellow, and has studied post-colonial literary theory.

Career

Clark's short fiction has appeared in numerous publications, including '' Beneath Ceaseless Skies,'' '' FIYAH Literary Magazine of Black Speculative Fiction'', ''Glitter + Ashes: Queer Tales of a World That Wouldn't Die'', ''

'', '' Tor.com'', ''

,'' ''

(2021),'' and ''The Best American Science Fiction and Fantasy (2022)''. Her short story "You Perfect, Broken Thing", published in ''

Uncanny Magazine ''Uncanny Magazine'' is an American science fiction and fantasy online magazine, edited and published by Lynne M. Thomas and Michael Damian Thomas, based in Urbana, Illinois. Its mascot is a space unicorn. The editors-in-chief, who originally ...

'', won the 2021

for Best Short Story''.'' Clark served as a co-editor of ''

'' from 2019 to 2021. With series editor Charles Payseur, Clark edited ''We're Here: The Best Queer Speculative Fiction 2020'', an anthology of queer

published by Neon Hemlock. ''We're Here: The Best Queer Speculative Fiction 2020'' won both the 2022

for Best Anthology/Collected Work and the 2022 Locus Award for Best Anthology. Clark's debut novel, '' The Unbroken'', was published in 2021 and met with praise from critics, earning a starred review from both ''

'' and ''

''. '' The Unbroken'' was a Finalist for the 2022

for Best Novel: Adult, the 2021 Nebula Award for Best Novel, the 2022

, and the 2022 British Fantasy Society's Robert Holdstock Award for Best Fantasy Novel.

Awards and nominations

Bibliography

''Magic of the Lost'' trilogy

* *

Short fiction

*"Your Eyes, My Beacon: Being an Account of Several Misadventures and How I Found My Way Home", first published in

, issue #46, 2022 *"The Captain and the Quartermaster", first published in Beneath Ceaseless Skies, issue #326, 2021 *"When the Last of the Birds and Bees Have Gone On", first published in ''Glitter + Ashes: Queer Tales of a World That Wouldn't Die'', Neon Hemlock Press, 2020 *"Forgive Me, My Love, for the Ice and the Sea", first published in Beneath Ceaseless Skies, issue #296, 2020 *"You Perfect, Broken Thing", first published in

, issue #32, 2020 *"The Cook", first published in

, issue #22, 2018 *"Burning Season", first published in

, #519, 2018 *"Sisyphus", first published in FIYAH Literary Magazine of Black Speculative Fiction, issue #4, 2017

Essays

*"The Crosses We Bear: The Butch Martyr in SFF", published on Tor.com, 2022 *"WWXD: A Warrior's Path of Reflection and Redemption", published in

, issue #41 *"The Fiction of Peace, the Fantasy of War", published in

Fantasy Magazine A fantasy fiction magazine, or fantasy magazine, is a magazine which publishes primarily fantasy fiction. Not generally included in the category are magazines for children with stories about such characters as Santa Claus. Also not included ar ...

, issue #66, 2021

Editor

*''We're Here: The Best Queer Speculative Fiction of 2020'', Neon Hemlock Press, 2021 *''

, co-editor 2019-2021''

Notes

References

External links

Official websiteC. L. Clark
at the Internet Speculative Fiction Database

Interviews

Interview with Author C. L. Clark
Michele Kirichanskaya, Geeks Out, 2021
C. L. Clark Tells Us About Her New Fantasy Book, The Unbroken
Daniel Roman, winteriscoming.net, 2021
Episode 144 - Interview with CL Clark, Author of The Unbroken
Gin Jenny, Reading the End, 2021
Color the Shelves - Interview with C. L. Clark, author of The Unbroken
Fadwa, Word Wonders, 2021
Episode 354: Character, Conflict, and World Building in Fantasy - Interview with C. L. Clark
Gabriela Pereira, diyMFA, 2021 {{DEFAULTSORT:Clark, C.L. Year of birth missing (living people) Living people 21st-century American LGBT people 21st-century American novelists 21st-century American short story writers American queer writers Speculative fiction writers of African descent American fantasy writers Indiana University Bloomington alumni