Jessica Levai
Jessica Lévai has loved stories and storytellers her whole life. After a double major in history and mathematics, a PhD in Egyptology, and eight years of the adjunct shuffle, she devoted herself to writing full-time. You can find her work at Strange Horizons, Cossmass Infinities, and Reactor Magazine. Her first novella, The Night Library of Sternendach: A Vampire Opera in Verse, won the Lord Ruthven Award for Fiction. She dreams of one day collaborating on a graphic novel, and meeting Stephen Colbert. Check out her website, JessicaLevai.com, for links and more.
Photos by Matthew Stein Photography
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by Jessica Lévai
“A stunning achievement in storytelling and the poetic form.”
—Emily Leverett, editor of Predators in Petticoats
In starry Sternendach, as long as
The vampire Graf has ruled this land
The Heller clan, with weapons strong as
Their wills, have killed his kindred and
Been killed in turn. The two sides nearly
Destroyed themselves. The Graf saw clearly
The need to make the killing cease,
And forced a pact to keep the peace.
The youngest of the Heller faction
Is Kunigunde. Trained to fight
It never suited her aright.
She can’t deny her soul’s attraction
For books and poetry, and for
The Graf, who gave her these and more.
Kunigunde is destined to become the next in a long line of Heller clan vampire hunters—but her soul is drawn to books, poetry, and the vampire Graf. Set in 1960s Europe, The Night Library of Sternendach is an unabashedly melodramatic opera-in-sonnets that weaves a sweeping, suspenseful tale readers won't be able to put down.
Recipient of the Lord Ruthven Assembly Award in Fiction
A Ladies of Horror Fiction 2021 Readers’ Choice Selection