Sarah Gailey is an American author of fantasy, science fiction, and mystery novels, short stories, and comics.
As a comics writer, they have published Eat the Rich (2021); an arc in the Buffy the Vampire Slayer universe, The Vampire Slayer (2022–2023); and another original, Know Your Station (2022–2023).
Perhaps best known for their American Hippo duology, the alternate history novella River of Teeth (2017) was a finalist for the 2017 Nebula Award for Best Novella,River of Teeth , at Science Fiction Writers of America; retrieved June 19, 2019 the 2018 Hugo Award for Best Novella,2018 Hugo Awards , at TheHugoAwards.org; retrieved June 19, 2019 and the 2018 Locus Award for Best Novella.2018 Locus Award Winners , at Locus Magazine; retrieved June 19, 2019 A follow-up, Taste of Marrow, was shortly released thereafter, with an omnibus published the year next.
Their full-length novels include award-nominated Magic for Liars (2019), The Echo Wife (2021) and Just Like Home (2022).
Career
Gailey's fiction has been published in The Atlantic,An Augmented Reality at The Atlantic; retrieved June 19, 2019 Tor.com,Worth Her Weight in Gold at Tor.com; retrieved June 19, 2019 and Fireside Magazine. Their non-fiction writing has appeared on Tor.com,Tor.com content by Sarah Gailey at Tor.com; retrieved June 19, 2019 Mashable,The Harry Potter series is actually one long story about PTSD at Mashable.com; retrieved June 19, 2019 The Boston GlobeDissociation is scary. Dissociation is safety. at The Boston Globe; retrieved June 19, 2019 and Uncanny Magazine.City of Villains: Why I Don't Trust Batman at Uncanny Magazine; retrieved June 19, 2019
According to Gailey's website, their work has been translated into seven different languages.
Novels and other work Gailey first became well known for their 2017 American Hippo duology, consisting of the novellas River of Teeth and Taste of Marrow.Of Hippos and Humans , by Ana Grilo, at Kirkus Reviews; published June 9, 2017; retrieved June 13, 2018River of Teeth , reviewed at Publishers Weekly; published May 13, 2017; retrieved June 13, 2018Hip, Hippo Hooray For 'River Of Teeth' , by Amal El-Mohtar, at National Public Radio; published May 28, 2017; retrieved June 13, 2018 The pair of alternate history novellas center upon the hypothetical import of hippos into southern US bayou country as food stock and as a counteractive measure against invasive water hyacinth, inspired by the real House Resolution 23261 (1910). The "alternate" in these alt-history novellas rests upon the idea that Louisiana Congressman Robert F. Broussard's bill did not fail, but was instead passed by Congress and signed into law by President Buchanan during his lame duck period in 1861. Years later, an extermination group is hired to eliminate feral hippos that have killed locals. Multiple main characters are LGBTQ, including non-binary individuals, and reviewers have discussed the complexity of their interactions. Well-received for its characters, creative worldbuilding, and fast-paced action by critics, the duology received minor criticism for its novella format, structural length, transitions, and missed opportunities for accurate depiction of indigenous populations.
Upright Woman Wanted, a standalone novella published in February 2020,Read the First Chapter From Sarah Gailey’s Upright Women Wanted at Tor.com; published January 6, 2020; retrieved March 8, 2020 depicts a future American Southwest where queer librarians travel on horseback, spying on a fascist state on behalf of a resistance group.
Their first full-length novel, Magic for Liars, was published by Tor Books in June 2019. Magic for Liars adds crime and mystery to Gailey's fantasy writing; the novel notably contains a non-exposited magic system, unusual in the genre. BuzzFeed News called it "one of the best fantasies of 2019."The Author Of One Of The Best Fantasies Of 2019 Walks Us Through Their Writing Space at Buzzfeed News; published June 6, 2019
Their debut young adult novel, When We Were Magic, was published by Simon Pulse in March 2020.When We Were Magic | Book by Sarah Gailey | Official Publisher Page | Simon & Schuster ; retrieved March 8, 2020 When a boy ends up dead after a magical accident happens on prom night, the main character, Alexis, and her group of close-knit friends try to right the terrible wrong. However, they fail and must find a way to live with themselves afterwards.
Gailey's second novel for adults, The Echo Wife, is a science fiction thriller about an award-winning geneticist, Dr. Evelyn Caldwell, whose husband, Nathan, leaves her for her clone. It was published in February 2021 by Tor Books.The Echo Wife | Sarah Gailey | Macmillan ; retrieved March 8, 2020
In July 2022, Gailey released their third novel for adults, Just Like Home. Published by Tor Books, Just Like Home is a gothic thriller about monsters, secrets, and children's love for their parents.
Gailey's most recent novella, Spread Me, was published in September 2025 by Tor Books on its Nightfire imprint. It was notable for its depictions of body horror and explorations of transgressive sexuality.
Comics In August 2021, their five-issue original comics series Eat the Rich premiered. They continued their work in comics with a 12-issue Buffy the Vampire Slayer comics arc titled The Vampire Slayer (2022–2023) and an original science fiction series titled Know Your Station (2022–2023), co-created with artist Liana Kangas.
They've also done work with Marvel Comics with stories published in Crypt of Shadows #1 (2023), Werewolf by Night: Unholy Alliance (2024), and Predator Black, White & Blood #1 (2025) and full runs on both White Widow (2023) and Avengers United #54–63 (2024).
Personal life Gailey grew up in Fremont, CaliforniaSarah Gailey: An Honest Narrative, at Locus Magazine; retrieved November 22, 2025 and lives in Northern California.
Gailey is non-binary.
Awards and nominations Year Work Award Category Result . 2017 — John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer — 2017 Hugo Awards , at TheHugoAwards.org; retrieved June 19, 2019 "The Women of Harry Potter" posts British Fantasy Award Non-fiction British Fantasy Awards 2017 Shortlist at the British Fantasy Society; retrieved June 19, 2019 Hugo Award Related Work River of Teeth Nebula Award Novella 2018 Hugo Award Novella Locus Award Novella Hugo Award Fan Writer 2019 "STET" Hugo Award Short Story 2019 Hugo Award & 1944 Retro Hugo Award Finalists at TheHugoAwards.org; retrieved June 19, 2019 Locus Award Short Story 2019 Locus Awards Finalists , at Locus Magazine; retrieved June 19, 2019 2019American HippoGaylactic Spectrum AwardsNovelNominated 2020 "Away With the Wolves" Hugo Award Novelette Magic for Liars Locus Award First Novel 2021 Upright Women Wanted Hugo Award Novella Locus Award Novella 2022 Ignotus Award Foreign Novella Locus Award Novel 2023Just Like Home British Fantasy Award Horror Novel (August Derleth Award) Locus Award Novel Eat the Rich Bram Stoker Award Graphic Novel 2024 Stone Soup: Personal Canons Cookbook Ignyte Awards The Community Award 2026 Spread Me Locus Award Horror Novel
Bibliography
Novels
Comics collections
American Hippo novella series
Omnibus Contains the novellas River of Teeth and Taste of Marrow, as well as additional short stories, including "Worth Her Weight in Gold"
Other novellas
Short stories YearTitlePublication2015"Stars""Bargain""Look"—— (June 2015). "Look". Cease, Cows Magazine. "The Breakup"——(August 2015). Literary Hatchet."Under Advisement of the Moon"——(September 2015). Beyond the Imagination.2016"Whisper"——(January 2016) Speculative Bookshop Anthology."Haunted""Of Blood and Bronze""Homesick""Rescue"2017"The Chisel"——(February 2017). "The Chisel". Wizards In Space Literary Magazine."""""Single Parent"""2018"STET""Bread and Milk and Salt""From the Void""Anonymous Croupier"—— (February 2018). Anonymous Croupier". Stone Soup."The Nightmare Stays the Same"—— (March 2018). "The Nightmare Stays the Same". Stone Soup."Our Collection"—— (March 2018). "Our Collection". Stone Soup."Go Home, Go Home, Go Home"—— (April 2018). "Go Home, Go Home, Go Home". Stone Soup."The Legend of Tania and Lula"—— (April 2018). "The Legend of Tania and Lula". Stone Soup."Worth Her Weight in Gold"——(May 2018). "Worth Her Weight In Gold". Tor.com."What Grew"——(June 2018). "What Grew". Uncanny Magazine."As Simple As Vanishing"—— (June 2018). "As Simple As Vanishing". Stone Soup."Anne and the Stairs"—— (July 2018). "Anne and the Stairs". Stone Soup."An Introduction to Pain"—— (August 2018). "An Introduction to Pain". Stone Soup."All the Stars Above the Sea"——(September/October 2018). "All the Stars Above the Sea". Uncanny Magazine."There Are No Hands in the River"—— (October 2018). "There Are No Hands in the River". Stone Soup."The Catch"—— (October 2018). "The Catch". Stone Soup."An Augmented Reality"—— (December 2018). "An Augmented Reality". The Atlantic.2019"Away With the Wolves""Wild to Covet""The Thing That Hides In Your Home"——(March 2019). "The Thing That Hides In Your Home". Stone Soup."Reynard Is Coming"——(January 2019). "Reynard Is Coming". Stone Soup.2020"Drones to Ploughshares""We Don't Talk About the Dragon""At the Threshold of Your Bedchamber on the Fifth Night""Tiger Lawyer Gets It Right"2021"I Swim Up From Below"2022"I Remember Satellites""The Daily Commute"——(July 2022). "The Daily Commute". The Sunday Morning Transport."When The Tide Rises"——(August 2022). "When The Tide Rises". Tomorrow's Parties: Life in the Anthropocene2024"Have You Eaten?"——(September 2024). "Have You Eaten?" Reactor Magazine.
Select nonfiction "This Future Looks Familiar: Watching Blade Runner in 2017". Tor.com . October 2017. "Impostor/Abuser: Power Dynamics in Publishing". Fireside Magazine . March 2019.
References
External links
Official website
Profile at Simon & Schuster Reviews by Book Reporter