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Kingfisher

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Kingfisher

By: Rozie Kelly
Narrated by: Dan Bottomley
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SHORTLISTED FOR THE 2026 WOMEN’S PRIZE FOR FICTION

“A gentle and compassionate novel that explores the nuances of queer love and friendship.” The Guardian, Derek Owusu

“a tenderly written meditation on art, love and life that’s as much about the search for self as for connection.” Marie Claire, editor’s pick

“Kelly writes the messiness of power dynamics well.” Telegraph

A creative writing academic falls under the spell of his colleague, a poet whose life seems to shimmer with a freedom he cannot reach. At home, there is Michael: beautiful, steady, safe. But the poet is something else entirely—she is restless, luminous, untouchable.

As his fixation deepens, the boundaries between admiration, desire and possession begin to blur. The poet, his Kingfisher, draws him further from the life he knows, into a world shaped by art, longing and illusion.
Then illness arrives, closing in on them all, and the tightrope he’s been walking starts to sway.

Kingfisher is a beautifully crafted novel of queer desire and ambition, grief and creativity, and the fine lines between intimacy and obsession.©2025 Rozie Kelly (P)2025 W.F. Howes Ltd. Friendship Genre Fiction Literary Fiction Literature & Fiction Psychological
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Lyrical writing and perfect narration. I was hooked by this book. Beautifully written and performed.

Hypnotic story

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This is a poor imitation of Written On The Body by Jeanette Winterson. I just couldn't care about the narrator, his relationship with Michael was dysfunctional, his relationship with Jessica was take take take, and he totally deserved being an unloved servant to the poet. Hetty wasn't to blame, you can't excuse your arrested development on your childhood by mid-life. He was so self-absorbed that I would have sworn he was one of Sally Rooney's characters. The writing wasn't terrible but I've no idea why it was shortlisted for the Women's Fiction Prize, I was utterly unmoved.

Couldn't care about the narrator

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Women’s prize 26. This gets better as you go on. Reminded me is Seascraper and Elmet. Sad and goes deep

Narrator v appropriate for the story

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Interesting story, beautifully narrated. Dan really brings the characters to life and it feels really vivid.

Excellent Natration

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Considering this was a story about published authors and poets, the writing here was clunky at times, full of GCSE imagery like “She is the human embodiment of a daffodil. Strong and bright and first to arrive.” The book was like a Monet painting. Overall it created something but the individual brush strokes were lacking in finesse.

Promising, but far from perfect

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