Ilka Tampke

Skin is a beautiful and brilliant book, a masterpiece. - John Marsden Southwest Britain, AD 43. For the people of Caer Cad, 'skin' is their totem, their greeting, their ancestors, their land. Ailia does not have skin. Abandoned at birth, she serves the Tribequeen of her township. Ailia is not permitted to marry, excluded from tribal ceremonies and, most devastatingly,...

Those who root for Game of Thrones' Daenerys Targaryen will find much to love in Ailia's personal quest, with Tampke more successfully navigating the realms of almost fantasy than Ishiguro, marking her out as an exciting talent to watch. — New Daily Set in Iron-Age Wales during the turmoil of Roman invasion, Songwoman explores one woman's quest to defend her...

Perhaps motherhood is always a promise that cannot be kept. Rain or shine, Nellika Werner goes for long walks every day in the bush near her home. The cool silence of the forest helps soothe what is repeatedly torn apart by family life. One morning, she decides to take a path she’s never walked before. Deep in this remote part...