Authors

Our Authors

Chelsea Abdullah

Chelsea Abdullah

Chelsea Abdullah is an American-Kuwaiti writer born and raised in Kuwait, where she grew up listening to stories about mysterious desert creatures and wily (only sometimes likable) heroes. Consumed by wanderlust, she has put down roots in various states. After earning her MA in English at Duquesne University, she moved to New York, where she currently lives. When not immersed in her own fictional worlds, she spends her free time playing video games, doodling characters, and hoarding books she doesn't have the shelf space for.

Books: The Stardust Thief

Amy Avery

Amy Avery (who also writes self-published work under the pen name Avery Ames) is a graphic designer living in Kansas. She writes novels that toe the line between glittery and dark, for lovers of fairy tales, romance, and everything gothic. When not writing, she can be found playing video games, tending a small herb garden, crafting cocktails, or feeding her nail polish addiction.

Books: The Longest Autumn

Katie Bartowski

Kati Bartkowski

Kati Bartkowski was originally drawn to illustration before she got swept up in the world of words. Nowadays she's a fan of creating fantastical creatures and feisty heroines in both mediums. If she's not reading, writing, or drawing, she's probably chasing after her high energy little girl.

Books: A Dash of Dragon, A Hint of Hydra, A Pinch of Phoenix, Whispering Pines, Whispering Pines: Infestation, Whispering Pines: Reckoning

S. A. Chakraborty

Shannon Chakraborty

Shannon Chakraborty is a speculative fiction writer from New York City. When not buried in books about Mughal miniatures and Abbasid political intrigue, she enjoys hiking, knitting, and recreating unnecessarily complicated medieval meals for her family.

Books: City of Brass, Kingdom of Copper, Empire of Gold, The River of Silver

Gwendolyn Clare

Gwendolyn Clare writes science fiction and fantasy. Her short stories have appeared in Clarkesworld, Asimov's, Analog, and Beneath Ceaseless Skies, among others, and her poetry has been nominated for the Rhysling Award. She holds a BA in Ecology, a BS in Geophysics, a PhD in Mycology, and swears she's done collecting acronyms. She lives in central Pennsylvania with too many cats and never enough books.

Books: Ink Iron and Glass, Mist Metal and Ash, In the City of Time

Jesmeen Kaur Deo

Jesmeen Kaur Deo

Jesmeen Kaur Deo is an Indo-Canadian writer and student from northern British Columbia. She loves books that can make her laugh and tug at her heartstrings in the same paragraph. When not wrapped up in stories, she can be found biking, voicing ads at her university radio station, or struggling to open jars.

Books: TJ Powar Has Something to Prove

Lindsey Duga

Lindsey Duga

Lindsey Duga is a young adult and middle grade author with a passion for fantastical worlds and reluctant heroes. Inspired by all of her favorite series and fandoms, she wrote her first novel in college and went on to publish three YA fantasy novels with Entangled Teen. She also writes middle grade horror for Scholastic where her books are featured at Scholastic Clubs & Fairs. When she's not writing, she plays Dungeons & Dragons, practices yoga, reads romcoms obsessively, and kicks back with a new anime.

Books: The Replacement

Clare Edge

Clare Edge

Clare Edge is an author and witch who was raised in the Rocky Mountains. They are on a mission to heal their inner child by writing stories for other people's children. They have too many degrees, too few cats, and often too much or too little blood sugar.

They hold masters degrees from the University of Limerick (MA) and the University of Montana (MFA). Their graduate research explored how we make and translate meaning through story.

Books: Accidental Demons

Rushie Ellenwood

Rushie Ellenwood (she/they) has worked in copywriting and assisting an A-list screenwriter, but nothing has brought them more joy than writing for kids—particularly those who feel unseen. As an openly gay/genderqueer writer, Rushie prides herself on being a fierce advocate for LGBTQIA+ kids and teens. They can often be found volunteering at Pride Club and trying to make somebody laugh, which is still their best survival secret. She lives in rainy Oregon with her wife and two little bears.

Books: A Song for Nolan

K. M. Enright

K. M. Enright

K. M. Enright is a Filipino-American writer of romantic fantasy for teens and adults. When not writing, they can be found playing too many video games, cooking, or listening to Broadway musicals. They currently live in New Jersey with their spouse and their black cat, Zuko.

Books: The Mistress of Lies Trilogy

Lauren Gibaldi

Lauren Gibaldi

Lauren Gibaldi is a public librarian who's been, among other things, a magazine editor, high school English teacher, bookseller, and circus aerialist (seriously). She has a BA in Literature and Master's in Library and Information Studies. She lives in Orlando, Florida with her husband and daughters.

Books: Freshman Orientation, The Night We Said Yes, Battle of the Bands, Autofocus, This Tiny Perfect World

Al Graziadei

Al Graziadei was born in Buffalo, New York and raised on Sabres hockey and video games, using their free time to write books inspired by both. Nonbinary and now living in Wisconsin, Al still plays plenty of video games and is a proud member of the Displaced Buffalo Sabres Fans group. Now that they've set aside their stick and mitts, they're making goals with their keyboard.

Books: IceBreaker

Sara Hashem

Sara Hashem is an American-Egyptian writer from Southern California, where she spent many sunny days holed up indoors with a book. Sara's love for fantasy and magical realms emerged during the two years her family lived in Egypt. When she isn't busy naming stray cats in her neighborhood after her favorite authors, Sara can be found buried under coffee-ringed notebooks. She is currently pursuing her Juris Doctor degree as well as the perfect banana bread recipe.

Books: The Jasad Heir

George Jreije

George Jreije was born in Central Massachusetts and promptly moved to Lebanon until age five. Each year since returning to the U.S., he would eagerly await summer break, when he would visit his childhood home on the Mediterranean coast, watching his Teta bake him Arabic sweets and tasty Lebanese dishes. Now, he bakes in his home in Maine, helping aspiring authors through the WriteMentor program.

Books: Shad Hadid and The Alchemists Of Alexandria, Tarik's Bazaar Adventure

Heidi Lang

Heidi Lang managed to stumble upon the two best jobs in the world: writing for kids and walking dogs. If she's not out on the trails surrounded by wagging tails and puppy kisses, she's probably hunched over her laptop working on her next book.

Books: A Dash of Dragon, A Hint of Hydra, A Pinch of Phoenix, Whispering Pines, Whispering Pines: Infestation, Whispering Pines: Reckoning, Rules of the Ruff, Wrong Way Summer, Out of Range

Ronnie Riley

Melissa Cristina Márquez

Melissa Cristina Márquez is a fiercely proud Hispanic marine biologist, wildlife educator, professional speaker, and presenter. She has given two TEDx talks on sharks and female scientists, and her work has been highlighted in NPR, Allure, Disney+, BBC, National Geographic, Good Morning America, and more. In 2021, Melissa was featured on the Forbes 30 Under 30: Science list and the InStyle "50 Badass Women" list. Melissa holds a BA in Marine Ecology and Conservation from New College of Florida and an MSc in Marine Biology from Victoria University. Born in Puerto Rico and raised in Mexico, Melissa aims to bring attention to the importance of diversity and inclusion with her writing.

Books: Mother of Sharks

Kate McMillan

Kate McMillan

Kate McMillan is an artist and woodworker from Houston, Texas. She graduated from Yale in 2016 with a degree in architecture and currently works as a concept artist for animation, where she gets to make up worlds that don't exist for a living. She loves creating stories that explore themes about mental health.

Books: Maple's Theory of Fun, Sustainable Structures

Jessica Parra

As a lawyer and daughter of Guatemalan and Cuban bakers, Jessica Parra never objects to an extra slice of cake. She's a Los Angeles native who loves to write about Latinas with big hair (and even bigger dreams), complicated families, cats living their best lives (all nine of them), and the healing magic of acceptance. When she isn't drafting books you can find her sipping kombucha, cuddling with her kitties, or co-piloting the Millennium Falcon at Disneyland's Galaxy's Edge.

Books: Rubi Ramos' Recipe for Success

Jared Pechaček

Jared Pechaček is an artist and writer based in Seattle, Washington. He is also a host of the Tolkien podcast By-The-Bywater. When he's not doing any of that, he's cooking, baking, or sewing something to wear to the opera.

Books: The West Passage

Ruthie Prillaman

Ruthie Prillaman is a writer and musician who hails from Potomac, Maryland. She graduated from Yale in 2016 with a degree in English and from USC in 2019 with an MFA in screenwriting. She currently works as a television writer, where she gets to imagine daring exploits from the comfort of her own home. She especially loves writing about queer and gender- nonconforming characters.

Books: Maple's Theory of Fun

Ronnie Riley

Ronnie Riley

Ronnie Riley (they/them) is a queer, nonbinary, neurodivergent, disabled author based in Ontario, Canada. They love tea, chocolate, and a cat (or six) nearby while they write or read. Ronnie writes books they wish they had as a kid, featuring queer characters, friendships, and hope.

Books: Jude Saves the World

Mike Robinson

Mike Robinson

Ever since the household debut of Mike's nine-page sci-fi epic, "The Aliens That Invaded My Backyard!," Mike has been hopelessly lost to the literary sandbox. He had his first real sale at 19, and he's since published short fiction in over a dozen outlets. He is a freelance manuscript editor, and co-editor of Literary Landscapes, the official magazine of The Greater Los Angeles Writers Society.

Books: Dreamshores, Waking Gods.

Eric Smith

Eric Smith

Eric Smith is a literary agent and YA author from Elizabeth, New Jersey. As an agent with P.S. Literary, he's worked on New York Times bestselling and award-winning books. A lifelong lover of writing and books, he holds a Bachelor of Arts from Kean University in English, and a Master's in English from Arcadia University, where he currently mentors MFA students. He lives in Philadelphia with his wife and son, and enjoys video games, pop punk, and crying over every movie.

Books: Freshman Orientation, With or Without You, Jagged Little Pill: The Novel

Lucas Soto

Lucas Soto

Lucas Soto is a Mexican-American writer and comic editor from Washington State. In 2020 he graduated from the California College of the Arts with an MFA in Comics. His work is driven by a lifelong love of manga, film, and fantasy novels. When he's not busy working, you're likely to find him practicing piano or reading a history book with a grumpy looking Napoleon on the cover.

Books: The Street King

Alison Pearce Stevens

Alison Pearce Stevens

Alison Pearce Stevens has an M.S. in zoology and Ph.D. in ecology, evolution, and behavior and has worked with children of all ages through scientific outreach programs for much of her life. She has been writing about science for children since 2010, publishing more than 120 articles on science topics for Science News for Students, Highlights for Children, and ASK magazine, among others.

Books: Animal Climate Heroes: Critter Combating Climate Change, Detective Dogs are on the Case

Rose Szabo

Rose Szabo

Rose Szabo grew up on a small family farm, surrounded by a ragtag family of humans and animals. After a brief stint in a coffee shop, they earned both their MA and MFA in creative writing, and their short fiction has been published in See the Elephant, Quaint, and Hello Horror. Rose now lives in Richmond, VA where they've started collecting people and cats of their own, and spends their days teaching writing at VCU.

Books: What Big Teeth, We All Fall Down

Jill Tew

Jill Tew grew up watching Farscape, Hercules, and Xena with her dad every week, and always had the latest copy of Animorphs tucked in her backpack. Now she writes the kinds of stories she loved as a kid, with characters she wanted to see more of— Black heroines asking big questions, saving the world, and occasionally falling in love along the way. Jill enjoys belting showtunes on the way to Target and baking in her spare time. She is also a co-host of Afronauts Podcast, which provides writing tips and community for Black aspiring speculative fiction writers. Jill lives in Atlanta with her husband, children, and a needy Dalmatian named Gus.

Books: The Dividing Sky

Makana Yamamoto

Makana Yamamoto was born on the island of Maui. Splitting their time between the Mainland and Hawaiʻi, Makana grew up on beaches and in snowbanks. Always a scientist at heart, Makana fell in love with sci-fi as a teen–they even led the science fiction and fantasy interest house at their college. Fiction became the perfect medium for them to explore their interests as well as reconnect with their culture, coalescing into a passion for diverse sci-fi. They love writing multicultural settings and queer characters, as well as imagining what the future might look like for historically marginalized communities. In their free time, Makana likes to hoard dice for their Dungeons & Dragons games, experiment in the kitchen, defeat bosses with their guildmates, and get way too invested in reality competition shows.

Books: Hammajang Luck

Kelsea Yu

Kelsea Yu

Kelsea Yu is a Taiwanese Chinese American writer who is eternally enthusiastic about sharks and appreciates a good ghost story. Her short stories appear in magazines and anthologies such as Fantasy, PseudoPod, Classic Monsters Unleashed, and Death in the Mouth. Her novellas, Bound Feet and The Bones Beneath Paris, are forthcoming or published with small presses. Kelsea lives with her husband, children, and a pile of art supplies in the Pacific Northwest.

Books: It's Only A Game

D. Zollicoffer

D. Zollicoffer

D. Zollicoffer is a Canton, Ohio-based speculative fiction author. His obsession with "weird" stories can be attributed to his mother, who passed down her love for The Twilight Zone to him at a young age. Now—over two decades later—he blends the speculative influences of his youth with humor and modern sensibilities to craft imaginative stories about Black kids and young adults. He's a former gaming journalist and has self-published over thirty books (under a retired pen name). When he isn't writing, he enjoys reading, nature, and discovering new music.

Books: How to Defeat a Blob Monster