Higher Magic: A Novel

She always felt like an impostor…

First-generation graduate student Dorothe Bartleby has one last chance to pass the Magic program’s qualifying exam. If she fails, she’ll be kicked out of the university, losing access to higher magic and her chance to prove classic literature contained spells that rebuilt the world.

Still reeling from the paralyzing anxiety that made her freeze on her first attempt, she’s horrified when her adviser insists she reframe her entire dissertation using Digimancy. Mages may have found a way to make computers and magic work together, but throw Bartleby into the mix, and nothing ever goes right.

This time is no exception. Her revised working goes horribly wrong, creating a talking skull named Anne that narrates Bartleby’s inner thoughts—even the most embarrassing ones—like she’s a heroine in a Jane Austen novel.

Facing the scrutiny of her professors, increasingly frequent panic attacks and the impending deadline, Bartleby doubts whether she’s fit to become a Mage at all. Out of her depth, she recruits James, an unfairly attractive Mage candidate, hoping he can help her correct the code and stop Anne’s glitches in time for her exam.

Instead, Anne leads them to a shocking and dangerous discovery: magic students who seek disability accommodations are disappearing—quite literally. When the administration fails to act, Bartleby must learn to trust in her knowledge and skills…and begin to rewrite her own story. Otherwise, she risks losing both the missing students and her future as a Mage, permanently. "Higher Magic is my catnip. By what dark arts I know not, Floyd has summoned up a wonderful wizard-grad-school slice-of-life, replete with organizing, romance, anxiety, camaraderie, and courage. More please!" —Max Gladstone, NYT Bestselling Co-Author of This is How You Lose the Time WarIn this incisive, irreverent, and whimsical cozy dark academia novel for fans of Heather Fawcett’s Emily Wilde series and R.F. Kuang’s Babel, a struggling mage student with intense anxiety must prove that classic literature contained magic—and learn to wield her own stories to change her institution for the better. First-generation graduate student Dorothe Bartleby has one last chance to pass the Magic program’s qualifying exam after freezing with anxiety during her first attempt. If she fails to demonstrate that magic in classic literature changed the world, she’ll be kicked out of the university. And now her advisor insists she reframe her entire dissertation using Digimancy. While mages have found a way to combine computers and magic, Bartleby’s fated to never make it work. This time is no exception. Her revised working goes horribly wrong, creating a talking skull named Anne that narrates Bartleby’s inner thoughts—even the most embarrassing ones—like she's a heroine in a Jane Austen novel. Out of her depth, she recruits James, an unfairly attractive mage candidate, to help her stop Anne’s glitches in time for her exam. Instead, Anne leads them to a shocking and dangerous discovery: Magic students who seek disability accommodations are disappearing—quite literally. When the administration fails to act, Bartleby must learn to trust her own knowledge and skills. Otherwise, she risks losing both the missing students and her future as a mage, permanently.

• | Author: Courtney Floyd
• | Publisher: Mira Books
• | Publication Date: Nov 20, 2025
• | Number of Pages:
• | Language:
• | Binding: Hardback
• | ISBN-13: 9780778387640
• | ISBN-10: 077838764X