Virtual Author Talk: Daniel Kraus
Writing the Nightmare: A Ship Called Sickness
Tuesday, September 08
6:00pm - 7:00pm
In an online author talk, Daniel Kraus discusses his newest book "The Sixth Nik." Register to receive the link to join and submit questions.
Master storyteller Daniel Kraus, winner of the 2026 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction, discusses his new novel, The Sixth Nik.
Deep into space, far past the triworld outposts, beyond range of the lethal trollbot internet, soars The Sickness: a ship woven from biomatter and capable of reacting to every need of its human crew. Sisilla, a nine-year-old cultist with a brain enhanced by arcane tech known as “niks,” has boarded to investigate the enigma of Fém—a plague-riddled planet that has abruptly gone rogue.
The mysterious crew includes a faceless assassin, a beautiful engineer jigsawed by plastic surgery, a peyote-addicted medic, and—most lethal of all—a rugged, NonModded captain with a score to settle with Sisilla. Other dangers abound. A hacked robot begins to believe Sisilla is its daughter. The Sickness itself is mutating, possibly even pregnant. And the secret of Fém is more horrific than anyone could have imagined. To survive, Sisilla will need to forsake her predetermined fate and embrace the unknown.
Daniel Kraus is a Pulitzer Prize-winning, New York Times bestselling writer of novels, TV, and film. His novel Angel Down was the 2026 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction winner, a New York Times Top 10 Book of 2025, and a national bestseller. His novel Whalefall received a front-cover review in the New York Times Book Review, won the Alex Award, was an L.A. Times Book Prize Finalist, and was a Best Book of 2023 from NPR, the New York Times, Amazon, and Chicago Tribune. With Guillermo del Toro, he co-authored The Shape of Water, based on the same idea the two created for the Oscar-winning film. Also with del Toro, Kraus co-authored Trollhunters, which was adapted into the Emmy-winning Netflix series. Kraus has won the Bram Stoker Award, Scribe Award, two Odyssey Awards (for both Rotters and Scowler), and has appeared multiple times as Library Guild selections. Kraus’s work has been translated into over 25 languages. He lives with his partner in Chicago. Visit him at danielkraus.com.
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