C. L. Polk is the author of the World Fantasy Award winning novel Witchmark, the first novel of the Kingston Cycle. After leaving high school early, they have worked as a film extra, sold vegetables on the street, and identified exotic insect species for a vast collection of lepidoptera before settling down to write silver fork fantasy novels. Polk lives near the Bow River in Calgary, Alberta, in a tiny apartment with too many books and a yarn stash that could last a decade. They ride a green bicycle with a basket on the front. They spend too much time on Twitter.
"A USA Today Bestseller! Winner of the Nebula Award! A World Fantasy Award Finalist! A Locus Award Finalist! An Ignyte Award Finalist! A New York Times Best Romance! An NPR Best Speculative Fiction Book! ""Eerie, sharp, and fiercely bittersweet."" --The New York Times ""Noir and fantasy often seem to go together, but those two elements seldom uplift each other quite as well as they do in Even Though I Knew the End"" --The Washington Post ""Bracing as a slug of bourbon, with a twist of pain on the drop--or is that hope? Polk's back with a cold-eyed winner."" --Max Gladstone, New York Times bestselling co-author of This Is How You Lose the Time War ""Stylish supernatural noir with a heart and a thrumming pulse. I devoured it."" --Laini Taylor, New York Times bestselling author ""This is a must-read for those who like their queer fantasy with a little grit and a lot of soul (pun intended)."" --Booklist, starred review ""Even Though I Knew the End rockets along from the very first page, with the details of author C.L. Polk's alternate Chicago revealing themselves exactly when required."" --BookPage, starred review ""Powerful, emotional, stylish and smart, Polk proves themself yet again to be a talent not to be ignored."" --Locus ""Even Though I Knew the End is Polk at the height of their considerable powers: romance, enchantment, tragedy, and courage to the bitter end."" --Elizabeth Bear ""Readers who fell into recent Jazz Age urban fantasies...will love Polk's latest."" --Library Journal, starred review ""C.L. Polk twists the hardboiled detective subgenre into something new and fresh and enticingly queer. ...[Even Though I Knew the End is] a thrilling, charming novella."" --Reactor ""Vivid and charming with a touch of noir edge, but way more heart."" --Rebecca Roanhorse ""A layered exploration of love and power with genuine emotional stakes and a soaring, perfectly bittersweet payoff. It's another winner."" --Publishers Weekly"