S.F. Williamson

What a wild week! I’ve been very quiet online while concentrating on finishing my draft of A STORM OF SWALLOWS before the due date of my actual human baby, which coincided with the award ceremony for the Waterstones Children’s Book Prize. I was so sad to miss the ceremony and considered hopping on a Eurostar for it anyway, but ultimately decided against it as I didn’t want to risk giving birth at Waterstones Piccadilly. Thank God I made that call as that’s exactly what would have happened… I was quite literally in the throes of labour when I received a string of excited messages from my agent and editor to say A LANGUAGE OF DRAGONS had won the Older Readers category. Thanks to the miracle that is the epidural (which hit at exactly the right time), I was able to take a moment to appreciate the news with my husband before bringing our daughter into the world and starting the new day on an absolute high. It’s such an honour to have won this award, especially in light of all the incredible books that were shortlisted. After a childhood spent browsing the books on the shelves at Waterstones and hoping I’d one day see my own among them, it truly is a dream come true. Thank you to some of ALOD’s biggest champions: my agent, Lydia Silver, editor, Tom Bonnick and the brilliant @harperfirebooks team, and of course to all the incredible @waterstones booksellers. Counting my lucky stars that I get to call myself both a children’s author and a mum 🫶🏻

HUGE NEWS! A LANGUAGE OF DRAGONS is getting a third book AND I’m writing a new fantasy duology. The follow-up to A LANGUAGE OF DRAGONS and A WAR OF WYVERNS is going to be epic, and I’m so grateful to my editors Tom and Erica for giving me the space to extend Viv’s story and to write more dragons, one last time ❤️‍🔥 I’m also working on something new, a YA fantasy duology that will publish with @harperfirebooks in 2029 and 2030. Writing an entirely new world is so exciting, and although I can’t tell you too much about it yet, I’ll be sharing a few of the moodboards from my office very soon, to give you a sneak peek of what’s to come 👀

WE HAVE HOT NEWS!!! 🎉🔥🐉 A Language of Dragons is an instant #1 BESTSELLER! 😭 The biggest of congrats to @sfwilliamsonauthor & a huge thank you to all the amazing readers, booksellers, digital champions and team behind this book, for all your support in making this such a roaring success! 🧡 We can't wait to see what ALOD does next, so watch this space...👀🔥 #languageofdragons

I had a fabulous time at the Nibbies celebrating the shortlisting of A LANGUAGE OF DRAGONS and of so many other incredible books. My favourite part of the evening was Sarah Wynn-Williams’ beautiful and very clever tribute to Virginia Roberts Giuffre (she was unable to talk about her on book as it is being censored) after they both won the British Book Award for Freedom to Publish. ‘The truth, once a book unleashes it into the world, has a way of outlasting everything that tried to stop it. It makes the world a little less safe for the predatory and powerful, and a little more possible for the rest of us.’ She spoke about the ‘analogue tenacity’ of books, a phrase I immediately wrote down in my notes. It was such a privilege to spend the evening with some of the most passionate people in the book industry, including part of the lovely @harperfirebooks team ❤️ #britishbookawards #nibbies

How stunning is the cover for A Storm of Swallows by @sfwilliamsonauthor , the epic conclusion to the A Language of Dragons series? And those sprayed edges! 😱🔥 Counting down the days until it comes out in January, pre-order through the link in our bio! Gorgeous cover art by @further_up !

A Language of Dragons is on fire! 🔥 Winner of the @waterstones_kids Children’s Book Prize in the Older Readers category! Congratulations @sfwilliamsonauthor on another incredible achievement! 🥳🎉

We've got the hottest news!🔥 A Language of Dragons has been shortlisted for the Children's Fiction Book of the Year for the @thebritishbookawards ! Congratulations @sfwilliamsonauthor ! What an amazing achievement!🐉🥳 #BritishBookAwards #nibbies

We've got some fiery news!🔥 A Language of Dragons has been shortlisted for the @waterstones_kids Children's Book Prize in the Older Readers category! HUGE congratulations to @sfwilliamsonauthor ! 🐉 🥳 #WCBP26

I’m joining the ranks of the Canva authors, although not for an author intro (yet). It’s tempting to believe that “pledging my support” to a campaign makes absolutely zero difference, but if a single person sees this post and is inspired to read a book with their child tonight, or to choose one for themself, then maybe it will have. I’m slightly obsessed with the topic of reading for pleasure and reading to children, so below are some great books to learn more. You can also head over to @sarahcrossanwriter ‘s page to watch her brilliant videos. The Read Aloud Handbook by Jim Trelease The Enchanted Hour by Meghan Cox Gurdon The Read Aloud Family by Sarah Mackenzie Why You Should Read Children’s Books Even Though You are So Old and Wise by Katherine Rundell The Reading Life by CS Lewis Bookworm: A Memoir of Childhood Reading by Lucy Mangan #nationalyearofreading2026 #goallin #readingforpleasure #onemillionwordgap

A huge thank you to everyone who came to celebrate A War of Wyverns with us last week!❤️ The epic follow up to A Language of Dragons is out now!🔥

Bookmark making, embossing, stunning venue, themed cocktails and an exclusive early title reveal...what better way to celebrate A War of Wyverns with @sfwilliamsonauthor ?🔥 Thank you so much to everyone who joined us last night and happy Appreciate a Dragon Day today!❤️

Did you crack the code? 👀 The EPIC conclusion to the A Language of Dragons trilogy, A Storm of Swallows, is swooping onto shelves 31 December 2026!🔥 Final cover coming soon so watch this space👀