Book Series Guide
P. Djèlí Clark

Author guide

P. Djèlí Clark Books in Order

P. Djèlí Clark is an award-winning American speculative-fiction author and historian. Born in New York and raised mostly in Houston, Texas, he also spent part of his childhood in Trinidad and Tobago. His fiction includes the Dead Djinn Universe, the Abeni's Song series, and acclaimed standalone novellas including Ring Shout and The Black God's Drums. His work frequently combines fantasy, alternate history, anti-colonial themes, and African and African Diaspora influences. He is a founding member of FIYAH Magazine of Black Speculative Fiction and works as an academic historian whose research spans slavery and emancipation in the Atlantic World.

fantasyhistorical fantasyalternate historyscience fictionhorrormiddle-grade fantasy

Catalog record updated .

P. Djèlí Clark's Newest Book

Cover of Abeni and the Kingdom of Gold

Abeni and the Kingdom of Gold

novel · First published 2025

After rescuing the Children of Night, Abeni and her friends are in search of the elder spirits—who they hope can protect Asha. But before the group can reach their destination, they’re captured and held prisoner by the Kingdom of the Gold Spinners, whose magics manipulate gold to build and achieve wonders. To secure their freedom, the companions make an agreement to retrieve the kingdom’s sacred and mystical Golden Throne, the very soul of their people—said to be hidden in a lost city beneath the sands and guarded by a terrible dragon. For Abeni, the quest for the throne becomes a race against time—the only means to assure she and her friends do not suffer the fate of being turned into living statues of gold forever. But there are other dangers. The Witch Priest has learned of Asha’s existence and has sent his forces to find her. Leading this search is a mortal teenage girl, who the Witch Priest has adopted almost as a daughter. With a pack of minions including the frightening Bat Riders and new villains like the coldhearted Huntsman and his three monstrous hounds, she sets out after Abeni and her friends—driven by a determination to prove her own strength and worth, to both her unforgiving “father” and herself. Abeni will find herself facing these new challenges as she seeks to bring back the Golden Throne, evade the Witch Priest’s hunters, and fulfill her own quest to find the disappeared people of her village.

Not sure where to begin?

Start with one of these

Cover of A Dead Djinn in Cairo

A Dead Djinn in Cairo

The first published entry in the Dead Djinn Universe and a concise introduction to Clark's alternate-history Cairo.

Cover of Abeni's Song

Abeni's Song

The first novel in the Abeni's Song middle-grade fantasy series.

Cover of Ring Shout

Ring Shout

A self-contained, award-winning novella blending historical fantasy and horror.

Read in order

Books by series

shared universe · ongoing

Dead Djinn Universe

A shared-universe sequence of alternate-history fantasy stories set in an early-twentieth-century Cairo where magic, djinn, angels, and steampunk coexist.

Series guide →
  1. 1
    A Dead Djinn in Cairo

    Book 1 · novelette · 2016

    Alex Award-winning author P. Djèlí Clark, A Dead Djinn in Cairo is a Tor.com original historcal fantasy set in an alternate early twentieth century infused with the otherworldly. Egypt, 1912. In Cairo, the Ministry of Alchemy,…

  2. 2
    The Angel of Khan el-Khalili

    Book 2 · short_story · 2017

    A girl visits a bazaar in Cairo, seeking a favor from a mysterious angelic being. This story first appeared in the anthology Clockwork Cairo: Steampunk Tales of Egypt.

  3. 3
    The Haunting of Tram Car 015

    Book 3 · novella · 2019

    P. Djèlí Clark returns to the historical fantasy universe of "A Dead Djinn in Cairo", with the otherworldly adventure novella The Haunting of Tram Car 015. Finalist for the 2020 Hugo Award Finalist for the 2020 Nebula Award Finalist for…

  4. 4
    A Master of Djinn

    Book 4 · novel · 2021

    Nebula, Locus, and Alex Award-winner P. Djèlí Clark goes full-length for the first time in his dazzling debut novel, A Master of Djinn. Cairo, 1912: Though Fatma el-Sha’arawi is the youngest woman working for the Ministry of Alchemy,…

series · ongoing

Abeni's Song

A middle-grade fantasy series inspired by West African and African Diaspora traditions, following Abeni and her companions on a quest to save their people and restore balance.

Series guide →
  1. 1
    Abeni's Song

    Book 1 · novel · 2023

    On the day of the Harvest Festival, the old woman who lives in the forest appears in Abeni's village with a terrible message: *You ignored my warnings. It’s too late to run. They are coming.* Warriors with burning blades storm the…

  2. 2
    Abeni and the Kingdom of Gold

    Book 2 · novel · 2025

    After rescuing the Children of Night, Abeni and her friends are in search of the elder spirits—who they hope can protect Asha. But before the group can reach their destination, they’re captured and held prisoner by the Kingdom of the Gold…

Outside the series

Bibliography by category

Novels (3)
  1. The Black God's Drums

    novella · 2018

    Rising SFF star P. Djèlí Clark brings an alternate New Orleans of orisha, airships, and adventure to life in his immersive debut novella The Black God's Drums In an alternate New Orleans caught in the tangle of the American Civil War, the…

  2. Ring Shout

    novella · 2020

    IN AMERICA, DEMONS WEAR WHITE HOODS. In 1915, The Birth of a Nation cast a spell across America, swelling the Klan's ranks and drinking deep from the darkest thoughts of white folk. All across the nation they ride, spreading fear and…

  3. The Dead Cat Tail Assassins

    novella · 2024

    The Dead Cat Tail Assassins are not cats. Nor do they have tails. But they are most assuredly dead. Nebula and Alex Award winner P. Djèlí Clark introduces a brand-new world and a fantastical city full of gods and assassins. Eveen the…

Frequently asked questions about P. Djèlí Clark

Who is P. Djèlí Clark, and what is his real name?

P. Djèlí Clark is the pen name of Dexter Gabriel, an American speculative-fiction author and historian. He is also a history professor at the University of Connecticut.

Sources: history.uconn.edu (opens in a new tab)us.macmillan.com (opens in a new tab)

Where was P. Djèlí Clark born and raised?

He was born in New York and raised mostly in Houston. He also spent part of his childhood in Trinidad and Tobago, his parents’ homeland.

Source: us.macmillan.com (opens in a new tab)

What does P. Djèlí Clark do besides writing fiction?

Clark is an academic historian whose research focuses on slavery and emancipation in the Atlantic World. He teaches history at the University of Connecticut.

Sources: history.uconn.edu (opens in a new tab)magazine.uconn.edu (opens in a new tab)

What influences P. Djèlí Clark’s writing?

His work is shaped by his West Indian upbringing, African and Caribbean folklore, and his interest in imagining more diverse speculative-fiction worlds. His historical scholarship also strongly informs his fiction.

Sources: magazine.uconn.edu (opens in a new tab)afuse8production.slj.com (opens in a new tab)

Which major awards has P. Djèlí Clark won?

Clark has won Nebula, Locus, Alex, and British Fantasy Awards. The Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers Association records Nebula wins for his novel A Master of Djinn, novella Ring Shout, and short story “The Secret Lives of the Nine Negro Teeth of George Washington.”

Sources: nebulas.sfwa.org (opens in a new tab)us.macmillan.com (opens in a new tab)