As always, my husband Dmitri has acted as both muse and sounding board, caretaker and research assistant, and I could not possibly repay the debt I owe—except by writing more books. To marry a book-addict is the best destiny for a writer. It pays for much of the grief of this life.
To my agent Howard Morhaim and my editor Juliet Ulman, as well as Ross Lockhart, Jason Williams, and Jeremy Lassen of Night Shade Books.
To Nancy 3 Hoffman, who provided a little museum by the sea which, lying empty in the winter, served high duty as the place where I wrote this novel.
To all my brothers and sisters who stand by me and pick me up when I fall, online and off, my family and my dears.
The Folded World
© 2011 by Catherynne M. Valente
This edition of The Folded World
© 2011 by Night Shade Books
Edited by Juliet Ulman
Cover art by Rebecca Guay
Cover design by Cody Tilson
Map by Tim Piotrowski
Interior layout and design by Amy Popovich
All rights reserved
First Edition
ISBN: 978-1-59780-203-1
e-ISBN: 978-1-59780-358-8
Night Shade Books
http://www.nightshadebooks.com
CATHERYNNE M. VALENTE
The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland
in a Ship of Her Own Making
Palimpsest
The Orphan’s Tales: In the Night Garden
The Orphan’s Tales: In the Cities of Coin and Spice
Under in the Mere
The Grass-Cutting Sword
Yume No Hon: The Book of Dreams
The Labyrinth
The Habitation of the Blessed: A Dirge for Prester John Vol. One
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Catherynne M. Valente is the author of over a dozen books of fiction and poetry, including Palimpsest, the Orphan’s Tales series, and The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making. She is the winner of the Tiptree Award, the Andre Norton Award, the Lambda Award, the Mythopoeic Award, the Rhysling Award, and the Million Writers Award. She was a finalist for the World Fantasy Award in 2007 and 2009, and the Locus and Hugo awards in 2010.She lives on an island off the coast of Maine with her partner, two dogs, an enormous cat, and an accordion.