Shen Tao
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dragons.bsky.social
Shen Tao
@dragons.bsky.social
580 followers 170 following 110 posts
Canadian writer based in Seattle, WA
The Poet Empress Jan '26 🌸 Tor Bramble (US) | Gollancz (UK) | preorders available!
https://linktr.ee/ThePoetEmpress
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dragons.bsky.social
Shen Tao @dragons.bsky.social · 15d
My debut is officially out today!!! (I can’t believe I get to say that)

Thank you to my publishing team, my writing friends, and all the wonderful ARC readers!! Thank you for taking a chance on a debut author!!

#booksky
The Poet Empress by Shen Tao
Reposted by Shen Tao
scryptidgames.bsky.social
Tales from the Cryptids just went live on Backerkit! Back this anthology edited by @brigittewinter.bsky.social with work from @lackingceremony.bsky.social, @sharangbiswas.bsky.social, @shing.bsky.social, @aeosworth.bsky.social, @dragons.bsky.social, and more! www.backerkit.com/c/projects/s...
Tales from the Cryptids: Games, Stories, & Uncanny Ephemera
An anthology of narrative games and other writing that flips the lens on conventional cryptid lore. In this zine, cryptids are beings with vivid lives, goals, and stories of their own to share. Don’t ...
www.backerkit.com
February 2, 2026 at 6:17 PM
dragons.bsky.social
Honored to be picked by a most excellent book club- Go get your Aardvark books now! - Goose approved :)
aardvarkbookclub.bsky.social Aardvark Book Club @aardvarkbookclub.bsky.social · 3d
We love these books. Thank you for coming to our TED Talk.

Signed copies of TRAD WIFE are available on a first-come, first-served basis! Grab this title early release!

#aardvarkbookclub #februarybooks
Trad Wife by Saratoga Schaefer, Love and Other Brain Experiments by Hannah Brohm, The Poet Empress by Shen Tao, Adrift by Will Dean, Superfan by Jenny Tinghui Zhang, & Burn Down Master's House by Clay Crane
February 1, 2026 at 2:53 PM
dragons.bsky.social
Thank you friend!
January 21, 2026 at 5:09 PM
dragons.bsky.social
🤩
January 21, 2026 at 5:09 PM
dragons.bsky.social
I hope you enjoy the story!
January 21, 2026 at 5:09 PM
dragons.bsky.social
My debut is officially out today!!! (I can’t believe I get to say that)

Thank you to my publishing team, my writing friends, and all the wonderful ARC readers!! Thank you for taking a chance on a debut author!!

#booksky
The Poet Empress by Shen Tao
January 21, 2026 at 5:03 AM
dragons.bsky.social
I will be doing an AMA (ask me anything) at reddit.com/r/fantasy on release day if you'd like to join me there!
January 19, 2026 at 8:06 PM
dragons.bsky.social
My debut is coming out TOMORROW!!! :)

#booksky
BookPage starred review of The Poet Empress
January 19, 2026 at 8:06 PM
dragons.bsky.social
Thank you so much @seattletimes.com and Jordan Snowden for featuring my debut! The article was so well-written!

www.seattletimes.com/entertainmen...
Poetry is powerful in local author Shen Tao’s debut novel
“The Poet Empress” asks readers to sit with contradiction and to consider the cost of speaking clearly in a world determined to silence certain kinds of truth.
www.seattletimes.com
January 17, 2026 at 8:20 PM
dragons.bsky.social
Thank you so much for having me! I really enjoyed our chat on Long Story Short!
davidgreenwriter.bsky.social David Green @davidgreenwriter.bsky.social · 19d
Just recorded a new episode of Long Story Short with the super talented @dragons.bsky.social talking all about her debut, The Poet Empress, and her journey to publication.

The book - and the podcast - are out soon!
January 16, 2026 at 6:56 PM
dragons.bsky.social
Right?! I feel honored to be counted among this group!
January 6, 2026 at 7:35 PM
Reposted by Shen Tao
reenamccarty.bsky.social
Look at all the beautiful books! I can't believe I get to be part of this debut class.
dragons.bsky.social Shen Tao @dragons.bsky.social · 29d
2026 is our debut year!! Here are some of the SFF authors I have the honor of debuting with early this year. I am really excited about these books so please check them out when you have the chance!

#booksky
Tidespeaker A Barista’s Guide to Love & Larceny A Vow in Vengeance Into the Midnight Wood The Book of Blood & Roses The Poet Empress Godstorm Once Upon A Song February🌷 Heart’s Gambit Queen of Faces The Forest on the Edge of Time The Faithful Dark All We Have Is Time The Iron Garden Sutra Weavingshaw Saltswept The Last Starborn Seer Midnight on the Celestial These Shattered Spires Child of the Dragon A Wish So Deadly Prodigal Tiger Honeysuckle Aicha The Geomagician The Celestial Seas
January 6, 2026 at 6:22 PM
Reposted by Shen Tao
marleyroseteter.bsky.social
IT'S OUR YEAR, GEESE!!! Look at all these incredible first quarter books...including @sadieturner.bsky.social's TIDESPEAKER, which pubs TODAY!
dragons.bsky.social Shen Tao @dragons.bsky.social · 29d
2026 is our debut year!! Here are some of the SFF authors I have the honor of debuting with early this year. I am really excited about these books so please check them out when you have the chance!

#booksky
Tidespeaker A Barista’s Guide to Love & Larceny A Vow in Vengeance Into the Midnight Wood The Book of Blood & Roses The Poet Empress Godstorm Once Upon A Song February🌷 Heart’s Gambit Queen of Faces The Forest on the Edge of Time The Faithful Dark All We Have Is Time The Iron Garden Sutra Weavingshaw Saltswept The Last Starborn Seer Midnight on the Celestial These Shattered Spires Child of the Dragon A Wish So Deadly Prodigal Tiger Honeysuckle Aicha The Geomagician The Celestial Seas
January 6, 2026 at 5:35 PM
dragons.bsky.social
2026 is our debut year!! Here are some of the SFF authors I have the honor of debuting with early this year. I am really excited about these books so please check them out when you have the chance!

#booksky
Tidespeaker A Barista’s Guide to Love & Larceny A Vow in Vengeance Into the Midnight Wood The Book of Blood & Roses The Poet Empress Godstorm Once Upon A Song February🌷 Heart’s Gambit Queen of Faces The Forest on the Edge of Time The Faithful Dark All We Have Is Time The Iron Garden Sutra Weavingshaw Saltswept The Last Starborn Seer Midnight on the Celestial These Shattered Spires Child of the Dragon A Wish So Deadly Prodigal Tiger Honeysuckle Aicha The Geomagician The Celestial Seas
January 6, 2026 at 2:56 PM
dragons.bsky.social
Delightful cryptids!!
scryptidgames.bsky.social Scryptid Games @scryptidgames.bsky.social · Jan 5
Get ready for Tales from the Cryptids! We are crowdfunding our first anthology in February 2026! Edited by @brigittewinter.bsky.social, this collection of TTRPGs, fiction, poetry, and other uncanny ephemera flips the lens on conventional cryptid lore: tinyurl.com/cryptidtales.
Get Ready for Tales from the Cryptids: Games, Stories, & Uncanny Ephemera
From Scryptid Games - Get Ready for Tales from the Cryptids: Games, Stories, & Uncanny Ephemera
tinyurl.com
January 5, 2026 at 10:58 PM
dragons.bsky.social
Love the choices! Glad to hear someone else does this too :p
December 30, 2025 at 2:47 AM
dragons.bsky.social
TNR is a classic!!
December 30, 2025 at 2:47 AM
dragons.bsky.social
That is a good idea!
December 29, 2025 at 4:48 PM
dragons.bsky.social
Do other writers have a different font for each book they write? My current WIP is an Arial book :p
December 29, 2025 at 4:10 PM
dragons.bsky.social
Thank you!
November 26, 2025 at 11:27 PM
Reposted by Shen Tao
surlyspice.bsky.social
THE POET EMPRESS by shen tao @dragons.bsky.social releases 1/20/26 from bramble @torbooks.bsky.social @macmillanlib.bsky.social #debut #fantasy #epic #love #death #poem #BookSky get your @libraryreads.bsky.social votes in by 12/1!
book cover for the poet empress by shen tao with peach lettering over a lush red and black illustration of an asian style palace bordered in flames with a masked figure towering over it, plus a ribbon of chinese characters winding across it with a tiny woman in a green robe standing on the ribbon
November 26, 2025 at 5:40 PM
Reposted by Shen Tao
authorerinrose.bsky.social
SPARRING PARTNERS is available for request on Netgalley! We so appreciate your early reviews as they help drive sales 😁

🫶🏼 Happy reading!

#2026Debuts #RomanceBooks #BookSky #Netgalley
November 6, 2025 at 5:00 PM
dragons.bsky.social
SO excited about a second starred review for The Poet Empress! A world of thank yous to Library Journal 🥰
DEBUT Famine spreads across the land of Tensha, and young Yin Wei does the only thing she can think of to save her family—become a concubine to Prince Guan Terren. Heir to the Azalea Throne, Terren is a cold man, with poetry magic that he uses for cruelty and death. As Wei navigates the inner machinations of the court, she realizes that she may have to become just as self-serving as Terren to survive. Not only do the other concubines battle each other to secure the spot as future Empress, but Terren deals with attacks on his succession from his honorable older brother, and both Wei and Terren face treachery from other court members. To achieve her goals, Wei must kill Terren—and with one forbidden poem, she can accomplish it. However, the only way to write this poem of death is with love, and she hates everything Terren is. The novel’s unique magic system and character-driven plot create an immersive tale.VERDICT Tao’s debut is an intricate study of court politics and what a young woman will do to survive. Hand to fans of The Poppy War by R. F. Kuang or She Who Became the Sun by Shelley Parker-Chan. DEBUT Famine spreads across the land of Tensha, and young Yin Wei does the only thing she can think of to save her family—become a concubine to Prince Guan Terren. Heir to the Azalea Throne, Terren is a cold man, with poetry magic that he uses for cruelty and death. As Wei navigates the inner machinations of the court, she realizes that she may have to become just as self-serving as Terren to survive. Not only do the other concubines battle each other to secure the spot as future Empress, but Terren deals with attacks on his succession from his honorable older brother, and both Wei and Terren face treachery from other court members. To achieve her goals, Wei must kill Terren—and with one forbidden poem, she can accomplish it. However, the only way to write this poem of death is with love, and she hates everything Terren is. The novel’s unique magic system and character-driven plot create an immersive tale.VERDICT Tao’s debut is an intricate study of court politics and what a young woman will do to survive. Hand to fans of The Poppy War by R. F. Kuang or She Who Became the Sun by Shelley Parker-Chan.
November 6, 2025 at 4:33 PM
dragons.bsky.social
Congratulations Kemi! 🥳
November 4, 2025 at 7:37 PM
Reposted by Shen Tao
kashinggiwa.bsky.social
On a planet damaged by rushed terraforming, a bodyguard-turned-reluctant rebel joins the last dregs of her parents’ failed uprising...

THE KING MUST DIE is out today! If you love stories about found families, revolutions, and second chances, this book’s for you.
Cover for THE KING MUST DIE, illustrated by the amazing Eleonor Piteira.
November 4, 2025 at 5:31 PM