About Cristin

Cristin Williams is the author of historical fantasy novels for adults and kids. Her adult books include The Whisper of Stars and The Language of Shadows (August, 2027), published by Orion, under the Gollancz imprint. For children, she is the author of The Pyramid Key (May 2027), which will be published by Penguin Random House, under the Puffin Press imprint.
Cristin was born in Japan while her parents were working as Russian-English translators for the US military. She spent her early adulthood travelling the world while working in the non-profit sector, and she now lives in Belgium with her Flemish husband and four daughters. When not writing, you'll find her studying history, photographing castles, or exploring the tangled forest of the Belgian Ardennes.
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Cristin Williams was born in Japan while her parents were working as Russian-English translators for the US military. She moved frequently throughout her childhood, which fueled her love of reading, since books were the friends she never had to say goodbye to. After university, Cristin spent the rest of her twenties traveling the world while working for a non-profit.

For adult readers, Cristin is the author of historical fantasy novels The Whisper of Stars and The Language of Shadows. The Pyramid Key is her first novel for children.

The Whisper of Stars

  • Published: Nov 06 2025

  • Pages: 464

  • ISBN: 9781399621311

  • Category: Adult

  • Editor: Rhea Kurien

A frozen island.

A monastery-turned-political-prison.

A cipher inked in blood.

When anarchist poet Katya Efremova is transferred to the prison colony on Solovetsky Island, she finds an enigma among her returned possessions - a blood-stained book containing a cipher left by her murdered mother, written on the day she died.

Following her mother's clues, Katya begins to unravel a centuries-old mystery woven into the history of Solovetsky Island. Finding the island's legendary power might be the key to overthrowing the Bolshevik regime, but Katya wasn't sent to Solovetsky by chance. The head of the government's spy network is watching, and there will be no hope of a free Russia if he takes hold of the magic hidden beneath the White Sea snow.

COVER CREDITS:

Design: Micaela Alcaino

Art Direction: Rachael Lancaster

The Pyramid Key

  • Expected Publication: May 06 2027

  • Pages: 368

  • ISBN: 0241800080, 9780241800089

  • Category: Juvenile Fiction

  • Editor: Natalie Doherty

Survive the night in a cursed Ancient Egyptian pyramid. A thrilling adventure for fans of Christopher Edge's Escape Room, M G Leonard's Hunt For The Golden Scarab, and Robin Stevens' Murder Most Unladylike.

You've spent years searching for the past, Joanna. Didn't you ever sense the past looking back at you, waiting to be found?

After the turmoil of WWI, twelve-year-old language whiz Joanna Archer loves living in Egypt with her archaeologist parents and mechanics-obsessed little sister, Sami. But time and luck are running out for the Archers. Jo knows they must find the long-lost tomb of the legendary Egyptian queen, Nitiqreti, or lose their home forever.

Then the unthinkable happens. Jo finds the key.

Jo and Sami follow a series of clues and discover Nitiqreti's pyramid. But it's a trap. Now the girls are locked inside, faced with booby traps, deadly magical illusions, devious puzzles, and murderous rivals - and the vengeful spirit of the ancient queen, who wants to trade their lives for her own resurrection . . .

COVER CREDITS:

Illustration: Vivienne To

Art Direction: Alice Todd

The Language of Shadows

  • Expected Publication: 12 August, 2027

  • Pages: 464

  • ISBN: 1399621394, 9781399621397

  • Category: Adult

  • Editor: Rhea Kurien

Delphine Lecompte has devoted her journalistic career to exposing secrets, but there's one mystery she's never been able to crack. After her mother's assassination when Delphine was eight, the police were unable to locate her father, or any record that he ever existed. An anonymous donor paid for Delphine to attend an elite boarding school. When she broke into the school office to find her records, Delphine discovered the tuition cheques were being sent from Paris. The address eventually led her to the Palais de l'Institut.

Inside the palace, five councils operate in utmost secrecy. The oldest council is L'Académie Française. Composed of forty members of the literary community who call themselves "Immortals", the Academy oversees the purity and correct usage of the French language - though their true purpose is far more sinister.

When a member of the Academy vanishes under mysterious circumstances, Delphine recognises his photograph as the newspaper comes off the press - it's her father, who she hasn't seen in nearly twenty years. Delphine reluctantly teams up with her ex-fiancé Laurent, a Flemish scholar who has his own urgent reasons for investigating the French Academy. And as they immerse themselves in a world of deadly secrets, they uncover a conspiracy going back centuries...

COVER CREDITS:

Design: Micaela Alcaino

Art Direction: Rachael Lancaster