Interview with Lauren Magaziner, Author of The Incorruptibles
Welcome to Smack Dab, Lauren! Please tell us a bit about The Incorruptibles.
Thank you so much for having me! The Incorruptibles is an upper middle grade fantasy for ages 10-14 about sorcerers who use their magic to oppress and a group of resistance fighters—known as Incorruptibles—who battle these tyrannical sorcerers with nothing more than tech and grit.
We follow thirteen-year-old Fiora Barrowling, whose parents were killed by sorcerers when she was six. She now lives with her uncle in his tailor shop and works as his apprentice. But after Fiora has a skirmish with two of the most powerful sorcerers (one of whom vows to kill her!), she’s whisked away to Inc Academy, a training base where they teach kids how to combat magic with awesome gadgets like lightning blasters, wind swords, and force-field shields. At its core, The Incorruptibles is a good vs. evil epic—an action-packed fantasy adventure.
The novel presents a world where sorcerers rule through Dark Deals. What inspired this magic system and the power dynamics in your story?
I think the power dynamics work surprisingly similarly to our world: where many people in power use their authority to exploit, harm, and oppress. Ultimately the idea of this magic system came from thinking a lot about the unchecked power I felt like I was witnessing. It made me want to create a world in which anyone could choose to become a sorcerer. But it’s almost like a Faustian bargain. Sure, you get power… but you also have to give up a piece of your body or soul or sense of personhood to obtain it.
Is power ever really worth the cost in our world or in the world inside The Incorruptibles? Because there’s always a cost. I spent years pondering the question. In addition, I chewed over that famous Lord Acton quote: “Power tends to corrupt and absolute power corrupts absolutely.” In a word where power corrupts—and to become a sorcerer means to be corrupted by the promise of power—we must have Incorruptibles as well.
The Incorruptible Academy is so richly detailed! Colored cloaks, flower-themed squads…What inspired this educational setting and organization system?
I started with my overnight camp. Every summer when I was a kid, I went to an 8-week overnight camp, where I lived in bunks, three bunks per age group. There was individual bunk loyalty, but there was also age group loyalty whenever all three bunks had to band together for an activity. That’s the feel I wanted. Comradery more often than competition. And the bonds you make—it’s beyond friendship. We grew up together, alongside each other. Twenty years later, I still feel familial about the folks from my age group.
The way I settled on the floral motif still makes me chuckle because I have terrible luck keeping flowers alive. But I think there’s something so beautiful about what flowers and plants symbolize: growth, life, hope, springtime, planting roots, branching out, resurgence. It felt like such an apt analogy for what I wanted Inc Academy to stand for. And the lovely thing about flowers is that they’re colorful! So, the motif lent itself perfectly to each squad having its own cloak color. Clovers in green, Thistles in purple, and Buttercups in yellow. Along with different colors for all the older students in the other eighteen squads.
I knew I wanted squads of different fighting styles in each year (one team of short-range fighters, one team of mid-range, and one of long-range), but figuring out the flavor of each of the teams came down to thinking about the type of squad each captain (Quinn, June, and Silvius) would lead, based on their temperaments.
The Thistle squad has such distinct personalities. Really, character building can be every bit as involved as world-building. Maybe more so. Can you tell us a bit about your process to build your characters?
One of the best pieces of writing advice I’ve ever received: Characters—all characters—need to feel to the reader like they can pluck them out of the book, put them in an entirely different situation, and still know how they’d react elsewhere. That’s what makes characters fully realized three-dimensional people.
So to start: I thought about the archetypes I needed to balance out the Thistles. First, the main character Fiora, with all the fight and fire in her. Cameron, the kindhearted sweetie, the cinnamon roll. Mel, the cantankerous brat, the rival. Onyx, the smart, bookish one. Quinn, cool in personality and avoidant about her mysterious backstory.
But to give them full depth, enough to make them feel real, I needed to texture their characters with specifics and details. First, tease out their backstories. Then, latch onto their personality quirks and idiosyncrasies (like gestures and actions that are unique to each one). And then of course, I have to consider their reactions (like, for example, how Onyx runs cold when he’s angry, while Fiora and Mel both run hot, whereas Cameron doesn’t seem to get angry… more frustrated or disappointed.) I also think what makes a character ring true is their flaws, so I’m very intentional about including imperfections.
Mel's character arc is fascinating. She goes from antagonist to ally to something more. How did you approach writing her evolution? Did you always have this arc in mind for her, or did you discover it through rewrites?
Always—always—Mel was headed for this arc! It was so exciting for me to have the challenge of turning a brat into someone we root for. My goal for the last third of the book was for the reader to step back and say, “Wait, do I actually like her?!” And for the answer to be yes, we do love this arrogant little crabapple. She’s reliably surly… but (to me) endearingly so.
And Mel’s character arc is still cooking! She has another fascinating arc coming up in book two. Surprises are in store. It’s been crystal clear from the jump where Mel needed to start, all the beats she has to hit, and where she ultimately has to end up.
How did you develop the concept of "side effects" for sorcerer powers? I love the idea of adding limitations to magic.
When I first graduated college and was working at Scholastic magazines, my coworkers and I used to play thought-experiment games. One of these was: “Okay, if you found a genie and could have three wishes, what would they be? But… aha! It’s a devious genie! And it warped your wish!” The point of the game was to try and come up with a wish so specific, so clear, that it could not be purposely misinterpreted, twisted, or messed up, not even if the one granting it had bad intentions.
I guess that game stuck with me. Because I couldn’t stop thinking
about all the ways getting something you wish for could wrinkle… Yes, you get
your power, and yes, it becomes a problem you did not anticipate. Sometimes the
magic does more harm than good.
The book features inclusion of Realm Sign Language and a deaf character (Leo). Could you talk a bit about how you approached writing this element?
Leo being hard of hearing was actually inspired by my bubbie. It’s a bit different, since Bubbie has hearing loss and Leo was born hard of hearing… but I paid a lot attention to the ways in which Bubbie losing 75% of her hearing was affecting her. The hearing aids went in, but they weren’t foolproof, like TV, movies, and books sometimes made it seem. They were an improvement, but there were still things she didn’t catch. She struggled more in louder, crowded spaces than in individual one-on-one conversations in quieter rooms. She became much more reliant on looking at our mouths as we spoke. Sometimes we have to get very close to her ears, even with the hearing aids in.
This was right around the time I had conceived of this highly inclusive book, and it manifested in Leo’s character, which I aimed to tackle with respect and empathy. I was determined not to gloss over the hard bits, like how annoying it is for Leo when his hands are incapacitated or how frustrating it is to talk to people who don’t know Realm Sign Language. And I did a lot of thoughtful research: YouTube, Reels, essays, soaking up as much as I could about the HoH/deaf lived experience. My bubbie doesn’t sign, so I watched a lot of videos. I continue to study, as Leo is such an integral character to the story. And one of my favorites!
It was crucial that Leo being hard of hearing and trans are two important parts of him… but not the whole of him. That’s how I feel about my own intersectional identities. Slices of a big pie.
Fiora's tailoring skills end up being crucial in several unexpected ways. How did you decide on this particular skill set for your protagonist?
I gave her this skill in a largely aspirational move. I’ve always wanted to sew. In high school, I tried to make a purse out of a pair of old jeans, and what I ended up with was a “purse” that would hold nothing and cause me to lose my wallet. (I think it would be fairer to call it a holey piece of denim.)
But sewing always seemed fun and exciting, so I gave it to Fiora. By the time I remembered that I (the author) was actively bad at tailoring, I was too deep into the book. At some points, I wondered why I had done this to myself. I was constantly looking up fabrics. Specific stitches. The easiest and hardest materials to work with. And more.
In the end, absolutely no regrets because Fiora’s sewing really does come in handy in both book one and two. But when it comes to my own personal dearth of sewing knowledge, I just hope I left no loose ends. (Get it?!)
You mention in your author bio that you’re “a Thistle through and through.” What qualities of the Thistles resonate with you personally?
I love the Thistles’ tenacity, their nerve, their refusal to give up, their daring. Their stubborn, thorny little weed of a mascot inspires me.
To me, being a Thistle about taking risks and being persistent. For a writer, that’s appealing; I love challenging myself to write books that experiment with format or age category. The Incorruptibles, for example, was my attempt to write a book that spanned the gap between middle grade and YA, a self-directive to juggle a massive (and inclusive) ensemble cast of characters, and a way to write social commentary. I felt bold writing this book. The keyboard is my Inc tool of choice.
If you could give the Thistles one piece of advice as they embark on their journey at the end of the book, what would it be?
Teamwork! Remember your teamwork. (The Thistles are desperately going to need it in book 2, where I put them through the wringer. And maybe through Ringer too.)
What’s next?
The Incorruptibles 2, of course! It comes out in the summer of 2026, and I’m so excited about the direction of the story. All the action-packed fun of book one… with a few shocking twists. More details coming soon!
Where can we find you?
If you want to find me in person, the events page on my website is a great place to start! I’ve got a launch party, a panel, an ALA signing, and many book festivals coming up! I’ve also got a newsletter, so that’s a consistent place I can pop into your inbox once a month with musings and news!
And if you want to find me on social media, I’m on Instagram (most actively), Facebook, Bluesky, and Threads. See you there! ☺
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