The Phoenix Pencil Company

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What to expect

'Absorbing' GUARDIAN

'Magical’ GOOD HOUSEKEEPING

'Suspenseful' MAIL ON SUNDAY

‘Wildly inventive’ LIZ MOORE

JUNE 2025 REESE WITHERSPOON BOOK CLUB PICK

In this dazzling debut novel, a young reclusive coder unearths the story of a lost Shanghai pencil company and a legacy of magic, espionage and family secrets that will alter the path of her life forever.

Monica Tsai spends most days on her computer coding for a program that seeks to connect strangers online. A self-confessed recluse, she finds herself escaping into a digital world, counting the days until she can return home to her beloved grandparents. They are now in their nineties, and she worries about them – especially her grandmother Yun whose memory has begun to fade.

Monica has become intent on tracking down her grandmother Yun’s long-lost cousin, Meng, before it’s too late. In her search, Monica connects with a young woman archivist who presents her with a single pencil that holds a clue to a hidden family history. Through this discovery Monica comes to learn of her grandmother’s years in Shanghai, working at the Phoenix Pencil Company.

As WWII raged outside their door, Yun and Meng came into a power unique to the women in their family: the ability to reclaim stories from the pencils they were written with. But when government officials uncovered their secret ability, they were both forced into a life of espionage, betraying other people’s stories to survive. These shocking revelations set Monica on a path that will change all their lives in ways she can scarcely imagine.

At once a sweeping family epic and a powerful love story with deep emotional resonance, Allison King’s brilliantly inventive debut novel pushes us to question how well we really know our own stories and the many beguiling ways they can connect our lives.

'Nods to Gabriel García Márquez … an intimate story of familial love and connection throughout the generations' INDEPENDENT

'A suspenseful family epic fueled by love and espionage’ MAIL ON SUNDAY

'A reminder of how family ties shape us’ WOMAN & HOME

'Allison King is a talent to watch’ LIZ MOORE

'A beautiful ode to the warmth of family connection' RAY NAYLER

'A stunning debut … had me smiling through my tears' FONDA LEE

'An impressive juggling act of voices that made me feel like I was in on a secret … a rare novel' SEQUOIA NAGAMATSU

Critics Review

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‘An absorbing family saga interwoven with reflections on the power of stories, and who has the right to decide what is preserved or permitted to remain secret’ Guardian

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'The thread of magical realism throughout nods to Gabriel García Márquez, but the novel is also enlightening on 20th-century Chinese and Taiwanese history … an intimate story of familial love and connection throughout the generations' Independent

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‘First-time novelist King delivers a suspenseful family epic fueled by love and espionage’ Mail on Sunday

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n ‘A magical, multi-generational novel to get lost in’n Good Housekeepingn

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'King’s debut explores feminine identity and how the memories of past generations can be inherited … A reminder of how family ties shape us’ Woman & Home

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‘I loved this wildly inventive novel and its exploration of how technology and humanity can intersect in deeply meaningful ways. Allison King is a talent to watch’ Liz Moore, author of The God of the Woods

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'An absorbing dual-timeline novel of high-tech, low-tech, and sorcery. Destined to delight' Anton Hur, author of Toward Eternity

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'China, America, generations, and stories connect with literal magic in this suspenseful debut. Marvellous!' Gish Jen, award-winning author of The Resisters

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'A beautiful ode to the warmth of family connection, the power of memory, and the magic of the written word' Ray Nayler, award-winning author of The Mountain in the Sea

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‘A masterful blending of history, fantasy, and romance that sank into my heart the way the magic of its pencils sinks into veins. King has written a stunning debut that pulses with love and loss, regret and forgiveness … This book had me smiling through my tears’ Fonda Lee, author of The Green Bone Saga

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'A rare novel … ultimately asking the question of what really matters when it comes to the people we love’ Sequoia Nagamatsu, bestselling author of How High We Go in the Dark

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‘The shimmering debut … both spellbinding and heartbreakingly evocative’ Bookmark Magazine

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