The Ashes of The Forest

2026

Publisher: Korza Books
Pages: 174
ISBN: 978-1-957024-12-7
On sale: August 25, 2026

Where to buy

Azra never imagined what Aegean Sea would bring to the Mossy Village. Born in this peculiar place, where time has stood still and magical black seaweed grows in the shallows and entangles the unwary, Azra watches as the waves deliver mysterious treasures from faraway lands.

When the waters of her home recede and then, at last, vanish, Azra embarks on a quest. She encounters magical feathers, a phantom sailor, and a fabled Pearl Seller as she seeks to confront the famed witch Lilith and bring the waters back. As she tries to restore the sea, she begins to connect with her people’s collective unconscious.

Starred by Kirkus Reviews

“A marvelously inventive work of fantasy
steeped in folklore and magic.”

What Others Are Saying About The Ashes of The Forest

“In a hidden Aegean village where the sea remembers more than the living, a young woman named Azra listens to waves that carry ghosts, stories, and scars. In an idiom that blends lyric with the cadences of folk storytelling and the engagement of ecological writing, The Ashes of the Forest unfolds in a world where fragments of myth, from Simurgh to Lilith, are reshaped by the presence of the ghostly sailor Elmados. As the sea returns what cannot be forgotten, the novel magically binds the reader to an endangered natural world.”
— ERDAĞ GÖKNAR, Translator of Orhan Pamuk’s My Name is Red
“Guzide Erturk’s The Ashes of the Forest is thoroughly enchanting and captivating. What seems at first to be a Turkish fairy tale becomes an adventure torn from the pages of The Arabian Nights, as told by Gabriel Garcia Marquez. Every twist in the story takes you deeper into a magical, watery world you’ll be reluctant to leave.”
— MICHAEL N. MCGREGOR, Author of Pure Life: The Uncommon Life of Robert Lax, The Last Grand Tour, and An Island to Myself: The Place of Solitude in an Active Life
“At once lyrical and imaginative, funny and profound, The Ashes of the Forest is an arresting novel full of ghosts and spirits, magic and wisdom. This debut marks the arrival of a singular, innovative new voice.”
— GABRIEL URZA, Author of The Silver State, The White Death: An Illusion and All That Followed
“Ertürk draws on Turkish folklore and climate change damage for an enchanting fairytale that explores loss, purpose, sacrifice, and restoration.”
— BOOKLIFE, Editors' Pick
“The Ashes of the Forest is an enchanting literary novella in which a young woman confronts loss and her changing homeland.”
— FOREWORD REVIEWS, Clarion Review
“Readers will appreciate Azra's fantastical odyssey and contemplate the ocean's role in their everyday lives.”
— BLUEINK REVIEW