Date of Award

5-2026

Document Type

Bibliographic Record

Degree Name

Master of Fine Arts (MFA)

Department

Stonecoast

First Advisor

Tobias Buckell

Second Advisor

Elizabeth Searle

Keywords

Stonecoast MFA, Fiction

Abstract

This first third of an adult dark fantasy novel combines prose, illustrations, and graphic design to tell a multimedia narrative. While the thesis does not include graphic elements, planned illustrations are described in words in italicized brackets. In the desolate fantasy plains of Egatsu, assassin matriarch Gulil Gesahn wants nothing more than to turn back into an adult. For decades, Gulil has been stuck in the body and mind of a twelve-year-old, torn between her adult experience and skills and her child body, maturity, and intelligence. Aided by her adult older sister, Gulil steals the instructions for a magical ritual that can restore her adult self—but to perform the ritual, she must open up about her secretive past to her dysfunctional family. Gulil’s adoptive, adult daughter Tariki-Lo Gesahn has a piercing eye for discerning the truth, no matter how painful, and will not let Gulil get away with anything less. Meanwhile, the cutthroat assassin clan that the Gesahn family rules plots to overthrow Gulil within two weeks. Only by becoming an adult before then can she earn their respect, fear, and secure her

power. Told in a mature mixed-media format that interweaves art and writing by author- illustrator Olivia Savill, dozens of full-color paintings advance the narrative beyond the

ability of words alone. The illustrated novel Death of the Matriarch-Child explores themes of age, childhood helplessness, and the impact of complex trauma on a family, asking what happens when adult responsibilities are placed on a child.

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