{{Short description|2020 novel by Ursula Vernon}} {{Use mdy dates|date=August 2024}} {{Infobox book | author = [[T. Kingfisher]] | isbn = 978-1-614-50524-2 | pub_date = July 21, 2020 | publisher = [[Argyll Productions]] | image = A Wizards Guide to Defensive Baking.jpg }} '''''A Wizard's Guide to Defensive Baking''''' is a 2020 [[young adult fiction|young adult]] [[fantasy]] novel by [[Ursula Vernon]], under her pseudonym T. Kingfisher. It was first published by Argyll Productions.
==Synopsis== When teenage bread wizard Mona discovers a corpse in her aunt's bakery, it triggers a chain of events. With the aid of animate [[gingerbread men]], her [[familiar]](a [[sourdough starter]] named Bob), and a few friends, they fight the Spring Green Man and Inquisitor Oberon, and lead the city in the fight against the Scriveners.
==Reception and awards==
[[James Nicoll]] called ''A Wizard's Guide to Defensive Baking'' "an entertaining YA diversion that will encourage younger readers to consider just how easily they might be scapegoated by an ambitious politician," and emphasized that he would "enjoy" reading a sequel.<ref name="Nicoll">[https://jamesdavisnicoll.com/review/bake-me-a-cake-as-fast-as-you-can Bake Me a Cake as Fast as You Can] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220927153309/https://jamesdavisnicoll.com/review/bake-me-a-cake-as-fast-as-you-can |date=September 27, 2022 }}, by [[James Nicoll]], at James Nicoll Reviews; published September 14, 2020; retrieved September 15, 2022</ref> ''[[Locus (magazine)|Locus]]'' commended Vernon's "ability to craft engagingly quirky characters", and her portrayal of "a [[Terry Pratchett|Pratchettian]] world where magic makes for a mostly amusing background, except when it doesn't."<ref name="Martini">[https://locusmag.com/2020/11/adrienne-martini-reviews-random-sht-flying-through-the-air-by-jackson-ford-and-a-wizards-guide-to-defensive-baking-by-t-kingfisher/ Adrienne Martini Reviews Random Sh*t Flying Through the Air by Jackson Ford and A Wizard’s Guide to Defensive Baking by T. Kingfisher] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240810022639/https://locusmag.com/2020/11/adrienne-martini-reviews-random-sht-flying-through-the-air-by-jackson-ford-and-a-wizards-guide-to-defensive-baking-by-t-kingfisher/ |date=August 10, 2024 }}, by Adrienne Martini, in ''[[Locus (magazine)|Locus]]''; October 2020 issue; published online November 3, 2020; retrieved September 15, 2022</ref>
In 2020, ''[[Locus (magazine)|Locus]]'' named ''A Wizard's Guide to Defensive Baking'' among the best young adult novels of the year.<ref>{{Cite web |last= |date=2021-02-01 |title=2020 Locus Recommended Reading List |url=https://locusmag.com/2021/02/2020-locus-recommended-reading-list/ |access-date=2024-08-10 |website=[[Locus Online]] |language=en-US |archive-date=April 1, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230401193504/https://locusmag.com/2021/02/2020-locus-recommended-reading-list/ |url-status=live }}</ref>
{| class="wikitable sortable" |+Awards and honors ! Year !! Award !! Result !! {{Abbreviation|Ref.|References}} |- ! 2020 | [[Andre Norton Award]] | {{won}} | <ref name=nebula2020>{{cite web |url=https://locusmag.com/2021/06/2020-nebula-awards-winners/ |title=2020 Nebula Awards Winners |publisher=[[Locus (magazine)|Locus]] |date=5 Jun 2021 |accessdate=13 Jul 2025}}</ref> |- ! rowspan="4" |2021 | [[Dragon Awards|Dragon Award]] for Best Young Adult / Middle Grade Novel | {{won}} | <ref name=dragon2021>{{cite web |url=https://locusmag.com/2021/09/2021-dragon-awards-winners/ |title=2021 Dragon Awards Winners |publisher=[[Locus (magazine)|Locus]] |date=7 Sep 2021 |accessdate=13 Jul 2025}}</ref> |- | [[Locus Award for Best Young Adult Book]] | {{won}} | <ref name=locus2021>{{cite web |url=https://locusmag.com/2021/06/2021-locus-awards-winners/ |title=2021 Locus Awards Winners |publisher=[[Locus (magazine)|Locus]] |date=26 Jun 2021 |accessdate=13 Jul 2025}}</ref> |- | [[Lodestar Award for Best Young Adult Book]] | {{won}} | <ref name=hugo2021>{{cite web |url=https://locusmag.com/2021/12/2021-hugo-astounding-and-lodestar-awards-winners/ |title=2021 Hugo, Astounding, and Lodestar Awards Winners |publisher=[[Locus (magazine)|Locus]] |date=18 Dec 2021 |accessdate=13 Jul 2025}}</ref> |- | [[Mythopoeic Award]] for Children's Literature | {{won}} | <ref name=mythopoeic2021>{{cite web |url=https://locusmag.com/2021/10/2021-mythopoeic-awards-winners/ |title=2021 Mythopoeic Awards Winners |publisher=[[Locus (magazine)|Locus]] |date=19 Oct 2021 |accessdate=13 Jul 2025}}</ref> |}
==References== {{reflist}} {{Andre Norton Award}} {{Locus Award Best Young Adult Book}} {{Lodestar Award for Best Young Adult Book}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wizard's Guide to Defensive Baking, A}} [[Category:2020 American novels]] [[Category:2020 English-language novels]] [[Category:Andre Norton Award–winning novels]] [[Category:Lodestar Award–winning novels]] [[Category:Works by Ursula Vernon]] [[Category:Self-published books]] [[Category:Locus Award–winning works]] [[Category:Works published under a pseudonym]]