Alex Pheby lives with his wife and two children in Scotland, and teaches at the University of Newcastle. Alex's second novel, Playthings, was shortlisted for the 2016 Wellcome Book Prize. His third novel, Lucia, was joint winner of the 2019 Republic of Consciousness Prize. Mordew, the first book in the Cities of the Weft trilogy, was selected as a Book of the Year by The Guardian, The I, Tor.com and Locus.