Acquisition Announcement: A KISS OF CRIMSON ASH by Anuja Varghese

We are excited to announce that Orbit has acquired award-winning author Anuja Varghese’s debut novel A Kiss of Crimson Ash, the first in a seductive new romantasy trilogy inspired by medieval India’s histories, myths, and intrigue.

Taara is the young and newly crowned Queen of Abhaya, whose fierce devotion to an ancient goddess is tested by unexpected desire for a lowly concubine—although she cannot admit it to anyone… not even herself.

Garjan, the Prince of neighboring Nandapore, is betrothed to Abhaya’s pious queen, but is torn between political duty and the hold that an alluring courtesan has on his heart.

Bhediya is Nandapore’s most in-demand courtesan, who always knew her love affair with the prince could never have a happy ending. But now the magic in her blood is tempting her to take fate into her own hands.

Roland is a foreigner and a thief by trade, attached to nothing and no one, or so he’d like to believe. It’s only when he stumbles into a twisted plot hatched by the empire’s most powerful men to harness the magic of the world—and the women who wield it—that he finds himself, for the first time, part of something bigger than himself.

Linked by desire, destiny, and a dangerous foe, Taara, Garjan, Bhediya, and Roland must chart a course through the empire’s brothels, temples, taverns, secret tunnels, and glittering palaces—risking everything for a magic worth dying for, and a love worth staying alive.

Publishing in Winter 2026 and featuring multi-POV storytelling, a diverse cast of characters, lush worldbuilding, and spice of every variety, A Kiss of Crimson Ash is perfect for fans of Tasha Suri, Dungeons & Dragons, and Bollywood’s most epic love stories.

Anuja Varghese writes literary fiction, SFF, and erotica/romance— and combinations of all three—where women of color get leading roles! Her work has been featured in many literary magazines and anthologies, including Best Women’s Erotica Volume 6 (Cleis Press, 2020), When Other People Saw Us, They Saw the Dead, (Haunt Press, 2022), Queer Little Nightmares (Arsenal Pulp Press, 2022), and Devouring Tomorrow: Fiction from the Future of Food (Dundurn Press, 2024). Her short story collection titled Chrysalis (House of Anansi, 2023), explores South Asian diaspora experience through a queer, feminist, speculative lens. In 2023, Chrysalis won the Writer’s Trust of Canada Dayne Ogilvie Prize for LGBTQ2S+ Emerging Writers and the Governor General’s Literary Award for Fiction. In 2024, it was longlisted for the Carol Shields Prize for Fiction and shortlisted for the Rakuten Kobo Emerging Writer Prize for Fiction. Anuja lives in Hamilton, Ontario with her partner, two kids, and two cats.

Hana El Niwairi at CookeMcDermid sold World English (excl. Canada) rights for a trilogy to Orbit US Associate Editor Tiana Coven and Orbit UK Senior Commissioning Editor Emily Byron has acquired UK rights for Orbit UK. Canadian English-language rights were previously sold to Executive Editor Lara Hinchberger at Penguin Canada.