Bio
Alys Arden was raised by the street performers, tea leaf-readers, and glittering drag queens of the New Orleans French Quarter. She cut her teeth on the streets of New York and has worked all around the world since. She either talks too much or not at all. She obsessively documents things. Her hair ranges from eggplant to cotton-candy colored. One dreary day in London, she missed home and started writing The Casquette Girls. Her debut novel garnered over one million reads online before it was acquired. (Skyscape) The fifth book, The Immortal Saint-Germain is due out in 2023.
Her first graphic novel, Zatanna: The Jewel of Gravesend (DC Comics) illustrated by Jacquelin de Leon is out now!
Alys is represented by Alexandra Machinist and Zoe Sandler at CAA. She still plans to run away with the circus one star swept night. You can follow her adventures on Instagram and Twitter.
“A Southern Gothic love letter.”
—Publisher’s Weekly, starred review
Zatanna: The Jewel of Gravesend
From the bewitching mind behind The Casquette Girls, Alys Arden, and with enchanting artwork by Jacquelin de Leon comes the story of a girl stuck in the middle of a magical rivalry and forced to choose between love, family, and magic without hurting anyone...or worse.
There's more to the mobsters, mystics, and mermaids at the last stop on the D/F/Q trains: Coney Island-Stillwell Avenue.
Zatanna's not your typical New Yorker. She walks her giant rabbit on a leather leash down the boardwalk, lives in a colossal architectural wonder known as the Golden Elephant, had her first kiss in the Haunted Hell Gate ride--and wouldn't have it any other way.
But the time for having fun in Luna Park comes to an end when a mystic's quest for a powerful jewel unravels everything Zatanna thought she knew about herself and her beloved neighborhood. Mysteries and magic surround her as she reveals the truth about her family's legacy, and confronts the illusion that has been cast over her entire life.
Release Date: July 26, 2022. Pre-order available now!
Zatanna: The Jewel of Gravesend (DC Comics)
Here’s a first look at the concept art for our upcoming young adult graphic novel! Written by Alys Arden and Illustrated by Jacquelin de Leon. ZJoG is a Zatanna Zatara magical origin story set on Coney Island with mobsters, mystics, and mermaids. Release date is July 26, 2022, but you can pre-order now!