Before Alchemised was a No. 1 New York Times bestseller, before it sold more than a million copies, before Legendary Entertainment paid seven figures for the movie rights, it was a piece of fanfiction — written during a baby’s nap time, posted online chapter by chapter, and downloaded more than 20 million times.
Tonight, the author behind it all comes to Pasadena.
SenLinYu, the Portland-based writer whose debut novel grew out of one of the most widely read fanfiction works in internet history, will discuss Alchemised at a ticketed event hosted by Vroman’s Bookstore.
The talk begins at 7 p.m. at Pasadena Presbyterian Church, 585 E. Colorado Blvd. — not at the bookstore itself. Doors open at 6 p.m.
Published by Del Rey Books in September 2025, Alchemised reached the top of the New York Times bestseller list in its first week, when it sold 145,000 copies in the United States, according to the publishing data tracker BookScan. The novel has remained on the list for 19 weeks, according to a 12 News report published February 10. The publisher reports total sales exceeding one million copies.
The book is a dark fantasy following a former alchemist named Helena Marino as she recovers her memories of a civil war in a world of necromancy and political corruption. It is a reimagining of Manacled, a fanfiction work by SenLinYu that drew a massive online readership before being removed from the fanfiction platform Archive of Our Own in January 2025 ahead of the novel’s publication.
SenLinYu grew up in the Pacific Northwest and studied classical liberal arts and culture, according to the author’s publisher, Penguin Random House. Their collected online works have been translated into 23 languages. Alchemised is their first published novel.
The Pasadena stop is part of the second leg of SenLinYu’s national book tour, according to 12 News reporting on a separate tour stop. Previous tour dates included a February 10 event at Powell’s Books in Beaverton, Oregon, and the tour continues February 12 at a Changing Hands Bookstore event in Mesa, Arizona.
The event is ticketed. Each ticket includes a pre-signed copy of Alchemised and a printed, double-sided black-and-white map, both distributed at check-in, according to the Eventbrite listing. There will be no public book signing or photo opportunity following the discussion. Seating is general admission.
The event takes place at Pasadena Presbyterian Church, located at the corner of Colorado Boulevard and Madison Avenue. Street parking is free after 6 p.m. Additional parking is available at nearby lots for a nominal fee. The church is a 15-minute walk from the Metro A Line’s Memorial Park and Lake Avenue stations.
For questions or ticket information, contact Vroman’s Bookstore at promo@vromansbookstore.com or (626) 449-5320. Tickets are available through Eventbrite.
Vroman’s Bookstore, founded in 1894, is based at 695 E. Colorado Blvd. in Pasadena. The store, which hosts more than 400 community events a year, according to its website, regularly uses off-site venues for larger author appearances.
A year ago, SenLinYu was writing in the Notes app. Now the words are bound in gold foil, stacked in bookstores from Portland to Pasadena, and headed for a movie screen.
