A Wizard's Guide to Defensive Baking

2020 novel by Ursula Vernon
978-1-614-50524-2

A Wizard's Guide to Defensive Baking is a 2020 young adult fantasy novel by Ursula Vernon, under her pseudonym T. Kingfisher. It was first published by Argyll Productions.

Synopsis

When teenage bread wizard Mona discovers a corpse in her family's bakery, it triggers a chain of events that leads to her managing the city's defense against military assault, with the aid of animate gingerbread men and her familiar — a sourdough starter.

Reception

James Nicoll called A Wizard's Guide to Defensive Baking "an entertaining YA diversion that will encourage younger readers to consider just how easily they might be scapegoated by an ambitious politician," and emphasized that he would "enjoy" reading a sequel.[1] Locus commended Vernon's "ability to craft engagingly quirky characters", and her portrayal of "a Pratchettian world where magic makes for a mostly amusing background, except when it doesn't."[2]

In 2020, Locus named A Wizard's Guide to Defensive Baking among the best young adult novels of the year.[3]

Awards for A Wizard's Guide to Defensive Baking
Year Award Result Ref.
2020 Andre Norton Nebula Award for Young Adult Fiction Won [4][5]
Cóyotl Award for Best Novel Won [6]
2021 Dragon Award for Best Young Adult / Middle Grade Novel Won [7]
Locus Award for Best Young Adult Book Won [8][9]
Lodestar Award for Best Young Adult Book Won [10][11]
Mythopoeic Fantasy Award for Children's Literature Won [12]

References

  1. ^ Bake Me a Cake as Fast as You Can Archived September 27, 2022, at the Wayback Machine, by James Nicoll, at James Nicoll Reviews; published September 14, 2020; retrieved September 15, 2022
  2. ^ Adrienne Martini Reviews Random Sh*t Flying Through the Air by Jackson Ford and A Wizard’s Guide to Defensive Baking by T. Kingfisher Archived August 10, 2024, at the Wayback Machine, by Adrienne Martini, in Locus; October 2020 issue; published online November 3, 2020; retrieved September 15, 2022
  3. ^ "2020 Locus Recommended Reading List". Locus Online. February 1, 2021. Archived from the original on April 1, 2023. Retrieved August 10, 2024.
  4. ^ "A Wizard's Guide to Defensive Baking". The Nebula Awards. Archived from the original on August 10, 2024. Retrieved August 10, 2024.
  5. ^ "2020 Nebula Awards Winners". Locus Online. June 6, 2021. Archived from the original on January 5, 2023. Retrieved August 10, 2024.
  6. ^ "2020 Cóyotl Award Winners". The Cóyotl Awards. May 10, 2021. Archived from the original on August 10, 2024. Retrieved August 10, 2024.
  7. ^ "2021 Dragon Awards Winners". Locus Online. September 7, 2021. Archived from the original on June 23, 2023. Retrieved August 10, 2024.
  8. ^ WRAL (June 28, 2021). "Locus Award Winners 2021". WRAL.com. Archived from the original on August 10, 2024. Retrieved August 10, 2024.
  9. ^ "2021 Locus Awards Online Report". Locus Online. July 29, 2021. Archived from the original on July 11, 2024. Retrieved August 10, 2024.
  10. ^ Kevin (December 19, 2021). "2021 Hugo Awards Announced". The Hugo Awards. Archived from the original on September 24, 2022. Retrieved August 10, 2024.
  11. ^ "2021 Hugo, Astounding, and Lodestar Awards Winners". Locus Online. December 19, 2021. Archived from the original on December 2, 2022. Retrieved August 10, 2024.
  12. ^ "Mythopoeic Awards 2021 - Winners' Remarks". The Mythopoeic Society . Retrieved August 10, 2024.
  • v
  • t
  • e
Andre Norton Nebula Award for Middle Grade and Young Adult Fiction
  • v
  • t
  • e
2000s
2010s
2020s
  • v
  • t
  • e