Kacen Callender
Kacen Callender is a Saint Thomian author of children's fiction and fantasy, best known for their Stonewall Book Award and Lambda Literary Award-winning middle grade debut Hurricane Child. Their fantasy novel, Queen of the Conquered, is the 2020 winner of the World Fantasy Award and King and the Dragonflies won the 2020 National Book Award for Young People's Literature.
Callender is Black, queer, trans, and uses they/them and he/him pronouns. Callender debuted their new name when announcing their next young adult novel Felix Ever After in May 2019.
If you like author Kacen Callender here is the list of authors you may also like
Buy books on AmazonTotal similar authors (97)
-
Ashia Monet
Ashia Monet is a novelist and essayist from Pennsylvania. As a lifelong fan of myth and poetry (especially Sappho), her fantasy novels explore various forms of magic and monsters.
Buy books on Amazon -
-
Di Toft
Di Toft was born in the black and white olden days of 1958, in Watford, Herts. A move to Somerset ten years later reinforced her love of the countryside and animals.
Buy books on Amazon
At school, she bribed friends to read her early stories, which were usually about vampires or ponies, or people being electrocuted in the bath. Some stories featured vampires and ponies, which wasn’t always a popular combination.
During the long hot summer of 1975, Di left school to find most of the best jobs were being done by other people. Her varied career has led to jobs in advertising, sales, and watching people dig holes in the road. She has also edited publications as well as written editorial and advertising features for newspapers and magazines. Although a very early a -
Angelo Surmelis
Angelo Surmelis was raised in Greece until he immigrated to Illinois at the age of five. He currently lives in Los Angeles. An award-winning designer, Surmelis has been featured on over fifty television shows, including the Today show and Extra, as well as in magazines such as InStyle, TV Guide, and Entertainment Weekly. He has worked as a host on networks like HGTV and TLC. He can be found online at www.angelohome.com.
Buy books on Amazon -
Sarah Henstra
SARAH HENSTRA is the author of the instant national bestseller The Lost Tarot (Doubleday Canada, 2024) and The Red Word (Grove/ECW/Tramp), which won the 2018 Governor General’s Literary Award for Fiction and was nominated for the Dublin International Literary Award. She is also author of the young adult novels Mad Miss Mimic (Penguin Teen, 2015), a CLA Best Book for Teens and a finalist for the Geoffrey Bilson Award for Historical Fiction for Young People, and We Contain Multitudes (Little, Brown/Penguin, 2019), which was the 2022 Vermont Reads program title and was nominated for the White Pine Award. Sarah holds a PhD in English and is a professor at Toronto Metropolitan University in Canada.
Buy books on Amazon -
Jasper Sanchez
Jasper Sanchez is the author of The (Un)Popular Vote, a Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection. He earned his BA in anthropology from the University of Pennsylvania and his MA in cinema and media studies from UCLA. While neither degree prepared him for the neoliberal hellscape of late-stage capitalism, they did push him to join the IWW as a red card-carrying Wobbly. He is a Californian by birth, disposition, and more recently, choice. When he's not writing, he can be found kvetching about capitalism and conversing with his cat. You can visit him online at www.jaspersanchez.com.
Buy books on Amazon -
L. Philips
The pen name for Laura Wettersten who lives in Ohio with her wonderful husband, their adorable baby son, and their two neurotic dogs. She has degrees in both music education and library science, and when she’s not writing or teaching she enjoys directing middle school musicals, dancing awkwardly around her kitchen, and watching WIPEOUT and 30 ROCK reruns. Her debut novel, MY FAIRE LADY, releases from Simon & Schuster BFYR in 2014.
Buy books on Amazon -
Preston Norton
Preston Norton teaches environmental science to fifth graders. He is the author of Neanderthal Opens the Door to the Universe, Where I End & You Begin, and Hopepunk. He is married with three cats.
Buy books on Amazon -
Phil Bildner
Phil Bildner is the New York Times bestselling author of numerous books for kids. His latest book is the groundbreaking, #OwnVoices middle grade novel, A High Five for Glenn Burke. He is the author of many children’s picture books including the Margaret Wise Brown Prize winning Marvelous Cornelius, the Texas Bluebonnet Award winning Shoeless Joe & Black Betsy, Martina & Chrissie, Twenty-One Elephants, and The Soccer Fence. Phil is also the author of A Whole New Ballgame, Rookie of the Year, Tournament of Champions, and Most Valuable Players in the critically acclaimed middle grade Rip & Red series.
Buy books on Amazon
Phil grew up in Jericho, New York, a Long Island suburb of New York City. He studied political science at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, -
Amy Sarig King
A.S. King writes middle grade fiction under the name Amy Sarig King.
Buy books on Amazon -
Robin Talley
I live in Washington, D.C., with my wife, our baby daughter, an antisocial cat and a goofy hound dog. Whenever the baby's sleeping, I'm probably busy writing young adult fiction about queer characters, reading books, and having in-depth conversations with friends and family about things like whether Jasmine's character motivation was sufficiently established in Aladdin.
Buy books on Amazon
My website is at http://www.robintalley.com, and I'm on Twitter and Tumblr. -
Helen Phillips
Helen Phillips is the author of five books, including, most recently, the novel THE NEED. Her collection SOME POSSIBLE SOLUTIONS received the 2017 John Gardner Fiction Book Award. Her novel THE BEAUTIFUL BUREAUCRAT, a New York Times Notable Book of 2015, was a finalist for the New York Public Library’s Young Lions Award and the Los Angeles Times Book Prize. Her collection AND YET THEY WERE HAPPY was named a Notable Book by the Story Prize. She is also the author of the children's adventure novel HERE WHERE THE SUNBEAMS ARE GREEN. Helen is the recipient of a Rona Jaffe Foundation Writers’ Award and the Italo Calvino Prize, among others. Her work has appeared in The Atlantic, the New York Times, and Tin House, and on Selected Shorts. She is a
Buy books on Amazon -
Dunya Mikhail
Dunya Mikhail is an Iraqi American poet and writer. She is the author of the poetry collections The War Works Hard, shortlisted for the International Griffon Poetry Prize, Diary of a Wave Outside the Sea (winner of the Arab American Book Award), The Iraqi Nights, winner of the Poetry Magazine Translation Award, and In Her Feminine Sign, chosen as one of the ten best poetry books of 2019 by The New York Public Library.
Buy books on Amazon
Her nonfiction book The Beekeeper was a finalist for the National Book Award, and her debut novel, The Bird Tattoo, was shortlisted for the International Prize for Arabic Fiction.
Mikhail is a laureate of the UNESCO Sharja Prize for Arab Culture and has received the UN Human Rights Award for Freedom of Writing, as well as fell -
M.E. Girard
M-E GIRARD is a Canadian writer of contemporary fiction---mostly young adult fiction, sometimes new adult fiction, usually queer fiction, and always about girls. Her debut novel GIRL MANS UP will be published in September 2016 by HarperTeen/HarperCollins and HarperCollins Canada. M-E was a fellow of the 2013 and 2015 Lambda Writers Retreat for Emerging LGBT Voices. Her writing has appeared in Plenitude Magazine. M-E is a member of the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators and the Writers' Community of Durham Region.
Buy books on Amazon -
Jules Machias
Jules Machias is the author/illustrator of the novels Both Can Be True (an American Library Association Rainbow Booklist Top Ten Title for Young Readers, a Bank Street Children’s Best Book of the Year, and an Indie Next List Pick) and Fight + Flight.
Buy books on Amazon
Jules has worked for veterinarians, marketing firms, construction companies, a car parts warehouse, and schools for kids with disabilities; they now own and operate Red Pen Refinery, an editing business. Jules lives in Cincinnati with their family, a bunch of lizards and pythons, a herd of discount-rack dogs, and a garage full of dirt bikes and art supplies. Visit Jules on Instagram for ridiculous dog pictures. -
Bill Konigsberg
Bill Konigsberg was born in 1970 in New York City. Expectations were high from birth - at least in terms of athletics. His parents figured he'd be a great soccer player, based on his spirited kicking from inside the womb. As it turned out, the highlight of his soccer career was at Camp Greylock in 1978, when he was chosen for the Camp's "D" team. There were only four levels. Bill played alongside the likes of the kid who always showered alone, the chronic nosebleeder and the guy with recurrent poison ivy.
Buy books on Amazon
Early in his life, Bill decided he wanted to be a disc jockey, a professional baseball player, or the Construction Worker from The Village People. None of these career paths worked out for him. Yet. He still holds out hope for a Village Peo -
Shaun David Hutchinson
Shaun is a major geek and all about nerdy shenanigans. He is the author of many queer books for young adults. Find out more information at shaundavidhutchinson.com. He currently lives in Seattle and watches way too much Doctor Who.
Buy books on Amazon -
Sarah Henstra
SARAH HENSTRA is the author of the instant national bestseller The Lost Tarot (Doubleday Canada, 2024) and The Red Word (Grove/ECW/Tramp), which won the 2018 Governor General’s Literary Award for Fiction and was nominated for the Dublin International Literary Award. She is also author of the young adult novels Mad Miss Mimic (Penguin Teen, 2015), a CLA Best Book for Teens and a finalist for the Geoffrey Bilson Award for Historical Fiction for Young People, and We Contain Multitudes (Little, Brown/Penguin, 2019), which was the 2022 Vermont Reads program title and was nominated for the White Pine Award. Sarah holds a PhD in English and is a professor at Toronto Metropolitan University in Canada.
Buy books on Amazon -
Rahul Kanakia
Rahul Kanakia’s second novel, WE ARE TOTALLY NORMAL, is out in March 2020 from HarperTeen. Her first book, ENTER TITLE HERE (Disney '16) was a Junior Library Guild selection and was reviewed by the New York Times. Her stories have appeared in Clarkesworld, Lightspeed, F&SF, and others. She lives in San Francisco with her wife and daughter.
Buy books on Amazon -
Quinn Anderson
Quinn Anderson is a nerd extraordinaire; she was raised on an unhealthy diet of video games, anime, cosplay, and comics from infancy. Her girlfriend swears her sense of humor is just a bunch of pop culture references wearing a trench coat. She stays true to her nerd roots in writing and in life, frequently drawing inspiration from her many fandoms and writing fanfic: the cheesier the trope, the better. She's attended conventions on three separate continents and now considers herself a career geek. May she live long and prosper.
Buy books on Amazon
Her favorite authors include Ursula K. Le Guin, Gail Carson Levine, Libba Bray, and Tamora Pierce. When she’s not writing, she enjoys traveling, cooking, spending too much time on the internet, playing fetch with her -
Robin Talley
I live in Washington, D.C., with my wife, our baby daughter, an antisocial cat and a goofy hound dog. Whenever the baby's sleeping, I'm probably busy writing young adult fiction about queer characters, reading books, and having in-depth conversations with friends and family about things like whether Jasmine's character motivation was sufficiently established in Aladdin.
Buy books on Amazon
My website is at http://www.robintalley.com, and I'm on Twitter and Tumblr. -
Haven Francis
An escapist filled with wanderlust, writing is Haven’s responsible adult version of getting in the car and driving without aim. Reading and music are close seconds. She and her husband can often be found checking out their favorite bands locally or hundreds of miles away via road trips. Reading is something they don’t have in common, but he tolerates her dimly lit late-night habit.
Buy books on Amazon
Haven once made a living writing about trends in interior design but thoroughly enjoys that fact that people, unlike furniture, can fall in love. She especially loves when they fall desperately and into a forbidden kind of love. Haven also works as a graphic designer but considers Mom her most important title.
She has a slightly embarrassing fascination with the pe -
Ashley Herring Blake
Ashley Herring Blake is a reader, writer, and mom to two boisterous boys. She holds a Master’s degree in teaching and loves coffee, arranging her books by color, and cold weather. She is the author of the young adult novels Suffer Love, How to Make a Wish, and Girl Made of Stars (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt), the middle grade novels Ivy Aberdeen’s Letter to the World, The Mighty Heart of Sunny St. James, and Hazel Bly and the Deep Blue Sea (Little, Brown), and the adult romance novels Delilah Green Doesn't Care and Astrid Parker Doesn't Fail (Berkley). Ivy Aberdeen’s Letter to the World was a Stonewall Honor Book, as well as a Kirkus, School Library Journal, NYPL, and NPR Best Book of 2018. Her YA novel Girl Made of Stars was a Lambda Literar
Buy books on Amazon -
Lisa Bunker
Lisa Bunker has written stories all her life. Before setting up shop as a full-time author she had a 30-year career in non-commercial broadcasting, most recently as Program Director of the community radio station in Portland, Maine. Besides Maine she has made homes in New Mexico, the LA area, Seattle, the Florida panhandle, and New Hampshire. She now lives in Sacramento, CA with her wife Dawn, an expert on anxiety in children and an author in her own right. Between them they have three grown children. From 2018 to 2022 Lisa represented the town of Exeter in the New Hampshire House of Representatives. Her other active interests include chess, birding, choral singing, and playing the bass.
Buy books on Amazon -
F.T. Lukens
F.T. Lukens is a New York Times bestselling author of YA speculative fiction including the novels Otherworldly, Spell Bound, So This Is Ever After (2023 ALA Rainbow Booklist; 2022 Goodreads Choice Awards nominee), In Deeper Waters (2022 ALA Rainbow Booklist; Junior Library Guild Selection), and the forthcoming Love at Second Sight (2025) as well as other science-fiction and fantasy works. F.T. resides in North Carolina with their spouse, three kids, three dogs, and three cats.
Buy books on Amazon -
Kelly Yang
Kelly Yang is the New York Times bestselling, award-winning author of the FRONT DESK series, winner of the 2019 Asian Pacific American Award for Children's Literature. Her books include FRONT DESK, THREE KEYS, ROOM TO DREAM, PARACHUTES, NEW FROM HERE, and other middle grade and young adult novels. She was born in China and grew up in Los Angeles. She went to college at the age of 13 and graduated from UC Berkeley at the age of 17 and Harvard Law School at the age of 20. After law school, she founded The Kelly Yang Project, a writing and debating program for children in Asia. Prior to becoming a novelist, she wrote for many years for the South China Morning Post, The New York Times, Washington Post, and the Atlantic. She lives in Los Angeles
Buy books on Amazon -
Adib Khorram
ADIB KHORRAM is the author of DARIUS THE GREAT IS NOT OKAY, which earned the William C. Morris Debut Award, the Asian/Pacific American Award for Young Adult Literature, and a Boston Globe–Horn Book Honor, as well as a multitude of other honors and accolades. His followup, DARIUS THE GREAT DESERVES BETTER, received three starred reviews, was an Indie Bestseller, and received a Stonewall Honor. His debut picture book, SEVEN SPECIAL SOMETHINGS: A NOWRUZ STORY was released in 2021. When he isn’t writing, you can find him learning to do a Lutz jump, practicing his handstands, or steeping a cup of oolong. He lives in Kansas City, Missouri, where people don’t usually talk about themselves in the third person. You can find him on Twitter (@adibkhor
Buy books on Amazon -
Schuyler Bailar
Schuyler is the first trans athlete to compete in any sport on an NCAA D1 men’s team, and the only to have competed for all four years. He is an internationally-celebrated inspirational speaker and a respected advocate for inclusion, body acceptance, and mental health awareness.
Buy books on Amazon
Schuyler graduated from Harvard College in May 2019 with a degree in Cognitive Neuroscience and Evolutionary Psychology. His studies focused on social emotional learning, emotional intelligence, and education. He is a tireless advocate for inclusion through speaking engagements and social media. Schuyler also holds on-going advisory roles with Monte Nido & Affiliates (the leading eating disorder treatment provider), USA Swimming, the Harvard Medical School Primary Ca -
Mason Deaver
Mason Deaver is a bestselling and award-winning author of young adult and adult romance novels. Their books have been awarded stars from Bookpage and Booklist, nominated for the Goodreads Choice Awards, and won the Pink News Best Young Adult Book Award.
Buy books on Amazon
Their first novel, I Wish You All the Best, named one of Cosmopolitan's 100 Best YA Books was made into a film directed by Tommy Dorfman. It premiered at the SXSW film festival in 2024 to rave reviews.
They currently live in San Francisco. -
Aiden Thomas
Aiden Thomas is a New York Times Bestselling author with an MFA in Creative Writing. Originally from Oakland, California, they now make their home in Portland, Oregon. As a queer, trans, Latinx, Aiden advocates strongly for diverse representation in all media. Aiden’s special talents include: quoting The Office, finishing sentences with “is my FAVORITE”, and killing spiders. Aiden is notorious for not being able to guess the endings of books and movies, and organizes their bookshelves by color.
Buy books on Amazon
Their debut novel, CEMETERY BOYS, was published on September 1st, 2020. -
Steven Salvatore
Steven Salvatore is a critically acclaimed author, book coach, and chaos agent whose obsessions include Star Wars, Mariah Carey, boating in the Adirondacks, his loud Italian family, exploring Italy, being Italian (Siciliano, not Italian-American!), and having and dissecting his existential crises (not in that order). As a studied, accomplished composition professor with experience running college writing programs, he’s currently an academic advisor at Manhattanville University, where he also teaches. He has an MFA in Creative Writing from The New School. He lives somewhere with his amazing husband Chris.
Buy books on Amazon
Steven is represented by Jess Regel at Helm Literary. His books include the critical darling AND THEY LIVED..., CAN'T TAKE THAT AWAY, NO -
Andrew Joseph White
Andrew Joseph White is the trans, autistic, and bestselling author of Hell Followed With Us, The Spirit Bares Its Teeth, Compound Fracture, and You Weren't Meant to be Human. Born and raised in the Shenandoah Valley, he received his MFA in Creative Writing from George Mason University, and lives in Virginia with his wife and their antisocial cat.
Buy books on Amazon
He can be found at andrewjosephwhite.com or on Twitter and Instagram at @AJWhiteAuthor. -
H.E. Edgmon
H.E. Edgmon (he/they) is a high school and college dropout, a militant queer, and an author of books both irreverent and radicalizing. His stories will always center the perspective of Indigenous people, trans people, and survivors of trauma. At present, he’s probably biting off more than he can chew, emulating the aesthetic of Dwayne from The Lost Boys (1987), and living out the found family trope in Brooklyn. Online, he can most often be found on Twitter @heedgmon.
Buy books on Amazon -
Emery Lee
Emery Lee is an award-winning author based out of Southern California. Find eir books at emeryleebooks.com and emerylee.itch.io
Buy books on Amazon -
David Valdes
Writes books for adults under the name David Valdes Greenwood.
Buy books on Amazon
https://www.goodreads.com/author/show...
David Valdes is the author of two memoirs, Homo Domesticus and A Little Fruitcake, and the new narrative nonfiction book The Rhinestone Sisterhood. As a playwright, his work has been staged coast to coast and in the UK. He has written the YA novels Spin Me Right Round, Finding My Elf, and Brighter Than the Moon. A former freelance journalist, Valdes Greenwood is best known for his Boston Globe columns. -
Isaac Fitzsimons
Isaac Fitzsimons is an acclaimed author, sought-after speaker, and dedicated educator, known for his commitment to writing inclusive and quietly radical queer joy.
Buy books on Amazon
His debut novel, The Passing Playbook, has garnered numerous accolades, such as being named a Junior Library Guild Gold Standard selection, a Summer/Fall 2021 Indies Introduce title, a Kirkus Best Young Adult Book of 2021, and a 2022 Lambda Literary Award Finalist.
A lifetime dabbler in the arts, Isaac has performed sketch comedy and can proudly play three songs on the banjo. In addition to his artistic pursuits, he is also a water fitness prodigy. When he’s not immersed in writing, you’ll likely find him at the pool, either taking classes or sharing his expertise as a water fitnes -
Lily Anderson
Lily Anderson is the author of THE ONLY THING WORSE THAN ME IS YOU, NOT NOW NOT EVER, and UNDEAD GIRL GANG. A former school librarian, she is deeply devoted to Shakespeare, fairy tales, and podcasts. Somewhere in Northern California, she is having strong opinions on musical theater. Find her online at www.mslilyanderson.com
Buy books on Amazon -
Dominic Lim
Dominic Lim has enjoyed a lifelong love affair with music. He holds a master’s from Indiana University Jacobs School of Music, is an alum of the Oberlin Conservatory of Music, and has sung with numerous professional choral ensembles. As a proud member of the Actors’ Equity Association, Dominic has performed Off-Broadway and in regional productions throughout the US.
Buy books on Amazon
Although he probably shouldn’t admit to having favorites, the thrill of singing “This is the Hour” in the chorus of Miss Saigon still pops up in his dreams. He supports his local writing community as a member of the Writers Grotto and as co-host of San Francisco’s Babylon Salon. Dominic lives in Oakland with his loving and supportive husband, Peter, and their whiny cat, Phoebe -
Leanne Schwartz
Leanne Schwartz is the author of the young adult fantasies A Prayer for Vengeance and To a Darker Shore, as well as the upcoming adult romcom My Kind of Trouble, writing as L. A. Schwartz. She has spent about half her life at either the library or the local theater, where she has played Lady Macbeth, Lady Capulet, and Hera―perhaps one reason she writes such vengeful, murderous girls. When she’s not writing, she can be found baking pizzelle and singing along to showtunes. She lives in California with her family.
Buy books on Amazon -
silas denver melvin
silas denver melvin is a transsexual poet from New Hampshire. His debut poetry book, Grit, published with Sunday Mornings at The River Press, was released in November of 2020.
Buy books on Amazon
His work has been hosted by Doghouse Press, Antler Velvet, The Candid Review, Hominum Journal, The Garlic Press, Bleating Thing, Toyon Literary, Bullshit Lit, and other outlets.
silas is a Pushcart Prize and two-time Best of the Net nominee. He is currently the head poetry editor for Beaver Magazine. -
Candy Gourlay
Candy Gourlay was born in the Philippines, grew up under a dictatorship and met her husband during a revolution. She had many adventures as a journalist in Asia, including visiting North Korea in 1987. Then she moved to the UK and found herself writing news about toilet paper, toothpaste and bleach. She pivoted to writing books for children and young adults and was published after nine years of rejection. Her books have been nominated for major prizes in Europe, including the Carnegie, the Guardian Prize, the Costa and the Nero Book Award. She has won the National Children’s Book Award of the Philippines twice and the Crystal Kite Prize for Europe twice. Her first novel Tall Story was selected as one of the ‘100 Best Books of the Last 100 Y
Buy books on Amazon -
Peyton Thomas
Peyton Thomas is an author and journalist based in Toronto. His debut novel Both Sides Now won the 2022 International Literacy Association Award for Young Adult Fiction. The New York Times called Both Sides Now a young adult book to watch for. The Globe and Mail named Both Sides Now one of the best young adult books of 2021 and the CBC named it one of the best Canadian young adult books of 2021.
Buy books on Amazon
Peyton is currently at work on his second novel, a contemporary interpretation of Little Women. You can read more about this forthcoming book in the New York Times and Oprah Daily.
Peyton's non-fiction has appeared in the New York Times and Vanity Fair, among other publications. He was a 2016 Lambda Literary Fellow and a 2014 recipient of the Norma Ep -
Andreas Suchanek
“Why don’t you learn something proper first, boy?” Nope, that was not the first sentence I heard after my birth. That came later. I was born on 21st March 1982 in Landau, a city in the southeast of Germany. According to corresponding statements from several family members, a return was demanded due to the constant and enormous noise level radiating from this little ‘bundle of joy’. “Mommy, can’t we give him back and get a puppy instead?”
Buy books on Amazon
Thankfully, shop policy states: No returns! Thus, a happy childhood ensued followed by turbulent teenage years. Of course, I won’t spill all the details here. For one, that would ruin the arc of suspense. Also, there wouldn’t be much left for my memoirs.
more:
www.andreassuchanek.de
(German & English) -
-
H.F. Askwith
H.F. Askwith is a British writer of dark fantastical fiction, and A Dark Inheritance is her first novel. She gained a Distinction in her Masters in Creative Writing, and in addition to her writing, H.F. Askwith has a love of puzzles, escape rooms and cyphers, which in turn has influenced her work.
Buy books on Amazon -
Robyn Schneider
Robyn Schneider grew up in Southern California, where she spent her childhood reading fantasy novels and searching for secret passages. She’s a graduate of Columbia University, where she studied creative writing, and the University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine, where she earned a Masters of Bioethics. Robyn is the bestselling author of The Beginning of Everything, Extraordinary Means, Invisible Ghosts, and You Don’t Live Here. Her work is available across the world in over a dozen languages. Her newest novel, The Other Merlin, will be published in September 2021. She lives in Los Angeles with her TV producer husband, their tiny puppy, and far too many books. You can follow her on Twitter and Instagram @robynschneider
Buy books on Amazon -
James Ramos
James Ramos (he/they) is a nonbinary, unapologetically dorky Minnesota native who now calls Arizona home. Weaned on a steady diet of science-fiction, comic books, and classic literature, James wrote his first story at eight years old and hasn’t stopped writing them since. He counts Jane Austen and Frank Herbert as his biggest literary influences, and believes in the unifying power of the written word. James is passionate about storytelling, particularly stories that give voice to marginalized people, especially those within the LGBTQ community and people of color. When he isn’t writing he can usually be found cosplaying with his friends or surrounded by his amazing family of cats.
Buy books on Amazon -
Jessica Walliser
Jessica Walliser co-hosts “The Organic Gardeners” on KDKA-Radio in Pittsburgh, PA. She is a former contributing editor for Organic Gardening magazine and a regular contributor to many national gardening publications. In addition, Jessica is the Acquisitions Editor for Quarto Publishing Group’s gardening imprint, Cool Springs Press.
Buy books on Amazon
Her two weekly gardening columns for the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review have been enjoyed by readers for over ten years. Her fourth book, Attracting Beneficial Bugs to the Garden: A Natural Approach to Pest Control, was released by Timber Press in January of 2014 and was awarded the American Horticultural Society’s Book Award. Jessica’s 2018 title, Container Gardening Complete, teaches gardeners how to grow anything an -
Julia Lynn Rubin
Julia Lynn Rubin lives the writer's life in Brooklyn. She earned an MFA in Writing for Children & Young Adults at The New School in 2017, and for three years, served as a writing mentor for Girls Write Now, New York City's premiere writing program for high school girls.
Buy books on Amazon
Julia has been writing books, poems, and stories since first grade, and loves reading about everything from film analysis to psychology. Her short stories have appeared in publications such as the North American Review, Sierra Nevada Review, and The Lascaux Review, and she writes for a variety of online publications, including BuzzFeed, Penguin Random House (GetUnderlined.com), and Road2College.com, among others.
Julia is passionate about realism and diversity in teen literatu -
Bethany Baptiste
BETHANY BAPTISTE is a national bestselling, award-nominated author and a slightly responsible grown-up living in Jacksonville, Florida, in a little brick house with two chaotic evil dogs, too many books, and not enough scented candles. You can find her and her antics at bethanybaptiste.com.
Buy books on Amazon -
Patricia Nell Warren
Patricia Nell Warren (pen-name Patricia Kylyna) was a Ukrainian and American poet and novelist. She wrote her works in Ukrainian and English.
Buy books on Amazon
In 1957 she married a Ukrainian emigre writer Yuriy Tarnawsky and subsequently learned Ukrainian language. Under Tarnawsky's influence she started socializing in Ukrainian emigre writers' circles and soon started writing her own poems, which culminated in her publishing several well-received Ukrainian poetry collections: Trahediya dzhmeliv (New-York: Vydavnytstvo New Yorkskoyi hrypy, 1960), Legendy i sny (New-York: Vydavnytstvo New Yorkskoyi hrypy, 1964), and Rozhevi mista (Munich: Suchasnist, 1969). She published her Ukrainian poetry collections under the pen-name Patricia Kylyna.
After Nell Warren div -
Jarod K. Anderson
Jarod K. Anderson is a strange mix of fantasy nerd, nature writer, podcaster, poet, and erstwhile academic. He once accidentally picked up a rattlesnake and has slept in the branches of a maple tree more than most writers. He created and voices The CryptoNaturalist podcast, a show about real love for imaginary nature, and he regularly shares his poems and prose on social media. He has published three books of poetry as well as the memoir Something in the Woods Loves You, about his lifelong struggle with depression and the healing power of the natural world. His new contemporary fantasy novel Strange Animals will be published in February 2026 by Ballantine Books. He has an MA in early modern English literature and insists he’s more fun than
Buy books on Amazon -
Jack Harbon
Jack Harbon (she/they) is a nonbinary transfem author writing everything from romance to erotica to horror—or sometimes a mix of all three. If she’s not scribbling down notes on one of her thousands of book ideas, she’s shopping for yet another doll to add to her collection, crocheting, or watching scary movies. Follow her on all socials @JackHarbonBooks!
Buy books on Amazon -
Fred Aceves
Fred Aceves was born in New York to A Mexican father, and a Dominican mother, which makes him 100% Mexican, 100% Dominican, and 100% American. He spent most of his youth in Southern California and Tampa, Florida, where he lived in a poor neighborhood like the one described in The Closest I’ve Come.
Buy books on Amazon
At the age of 21 he started traveling around the world, living in Chicago, New York, The Czech Republic, France, Argentina, Bolivia, and Mexico, his father’s native land. Among other jobs, he has worked as a delivery driver, server, cook, car salesman, freelance editor, and teacher of English as a second language. -
Z.R. Ellor
Z. R. Ellor (he/him) is the author of YA contemporary novels MAY THE BEST MAN WIN and ACTING THE PART, and the adult fantasy SILK FIRE (written as Zabé Ellor.) He holds a BA in English Lit and biology from Cornell University. When not writing, he can be found running, playing video games, and exploring Los Angeles. Find him online at https://zrellorbooks.com/
Buy books on Amazon -
Francisco X. Stork
Francisco X. Stork was born in Mexico. He moved to El Paso Texas with his adoptive father and mother when he was nine. He attended Spring Hill College, Harvard University and Columbia Law School. He worked as an attorney for thirty-three years before retiring in 2015. He is married and has two grown children and four beautiful grandkids. He loves to discover new books and authors. His favorite books are those where the author's soul touches his. He does not read reviews to his books so you should feel free to write whatever you want. Also, he is genuinely interested in learning about books and life from his friends on this site. He would love it if you find his books worthy to be read, but that's not why he wants to be your friend.
Buy books on Amazon -
Reena Patel
Reena Patel, Ph.D. is a feminist scholar and currently serves as a Foreign Service Officer with the U.S Department of State. She also advises companies on gender issues in the workplace.
Buy books on Amazon
Raised in Massachusetts, she is a first-generation American from an Indian family. Her parents emigrated from East Africa over 40 years ago. After graduating from the University of Massachusetts at Boston with a business degree, she went on to work in San Francisco and thereafter Hawaii. She then served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Ghana on an IT development project funded by USAID.
Reena currently lives in Madrid, Spain and in her spare time, she loves to take road trips and eat tapas. -
Philip Dawkins
Mr. Dawkins' work includes the world premiere of Miss Marx: or the Involuntary Side Effect of Living (Strawdog Theatre), which won the Joseph Jefferson Award for Best New Work, as well as recent critically-acclaimed plays The Homosexuals and Failure: A Love Story, which both also received Joseph Jefferson Nominations for New Work after their world premieres with About Face Theatre (2011) and Victory Gardens Theater (2012) respectively. His plays for young folks are published through Playscripts, Inc. A graduate of Loyola University, Chicago, Mr. Dawkins is an Artistic Associate of About Face Theatre, an Ensemble Playwright at Victory Gardens, and a founding member of Chicago Opera Vanguard. Mr. Dawkins teaches playwriting at Northwestern Un
Buy books on Amazon -
Schuyler Bailar
Schuyler is the first trans athlete to compete in any sport on an NCAA D1 men’s team, and the only to have competed for all four years. He is an internationally-celebrated inspirational speaker and a respected advocate for inclusion, body acceptance, and mental health awareness.
Buy books on Amazon
Schuyler graduated from Harvard College in May 2019 with a degree in Cognitive Neuroscience and Evolutionary Psychology. His studies focused on social emotional learning, emotional intelligence, and education. He is a tireless advocate for inclusion through speaking engagements and social media. Schuyler also holds on-going advisory roles with Monte Nido & Affiliates (the leading eating disorder treatment provider), USA Swimming, the Harvard Medical School Primary Ca -
Raziel Reid
RAZIEL REID’s debut young adult novel, When Everything Feels Like the Movies, won the 2014 Governor General’s Award for English-language children’s literature, making him, at 24 years old, the youngest ever person to win the prestigious award. When Everything Feels Like the Movies, optioned for film by Random Bench Productions, is inspired in part by the 2008 murder of gay teenager Lawrence Fobes King. Published in 2014 by Arsenal Pulp Press, it has since been published in the UK by Atom Publishing with The Telegraph listing it as one of the best YA novels of 2016, and in Germany by Albino Verlag. It was selected for inclusion in the 2015 edition of Canada Reads, where it came in second place. It was also nominated for a Lambda Literary Awa
Buy books on Amazon -
Otis Webb Brawley
As the chief medical officer and executive vice president of the American Cancer Society, Otis Webb Brawley, MD, is responsible for promoting the goals of cancer prevention, early detection, and quality treatment through cancer research and education. He champions efforts to decrease smoking, improve diet, detect cancer at the earliest stage, and provide the critical support cancer patients need. He also guides efforts to enhance and focus the research program, upgrade the Society’s advocacy capacity, and concentrate community cancer control efforts in areas where they will be most effective. Further, as an acknowledged global leader in the field of health disparities research, Dr. Brawley is a key leader in the Society’s work to eliminate
Buy books on Amazon -
Rita Williams-Garcia
"I was born in Queens, N.Y, on April 13, 1957. My mother, Miss Essie, named me 'NoMo' immediately after my birth. Although I was her last child, I took my time making my appearance. I like to believe I was dreaming up a good story and wouldn’t budge until I was finished. Even now, my daughters call me 'Pokey Mom', because I slow poke around when they want to go-go-go.
Buy books on Amazon
"I learned to read early, and was aware of events going on as I grew up in the 60s. In the midst of real events, I daydreamed and wrote stories. Writing stories for young people is my passion and my mission. Teens will read. They hunger for stories that engage them and reflect their images and experiences."
Author of four award winning novels, Rita Williams-Garcia continues to -
Robert Montgomery Bird
Robert Montgomery Bird was an American novelist, playwright, and physician.
Buy books on Amazon -
David Valdes
Writes books for adults under the name David Valdes Greenwood.
Buy books on Amazon
https://www.goodreads.com/author/show...
David Valdes is the author of two memoirs, Homo Domesticus and A Little Fruitcake, and the new narrative nonfiction book The Rhinestone Sisterhood. As a playwright, his work has been staged coast to coast and in the UK. He has written the YA novels Spin Me Right Round, Finding My Elf, and Brighter Than the Moon. A former freelance journalist, Valdes Greenwood is best known for his Boston Globe columns. -
James Sie
JAMES SIE is the author of STILL LIFE LAS VEGAS (St. Martin’s Press, 2015), a Lambda Literary Award finalist for Best Gay Fiction, and the YA novel ALL KINDS OF OTHER (Quill Tree Books, 2021) He is an award-winning playwright of literary adaptations, receiving a Joseph Jefferson Citation for his adaptation of ISLAND OF THE BLUE DOLPHINS, and an After Dark Award for the original work THE ROAD TO GRACELAND. He has contributed essays for The Rumpus, Pen USA, FSG’s Book Keeping and The Advocate. In addition to writing, Sie can currently be heard as a voiceover artist in animation and audiobook narration.
Buy books on Amazon -
Victoria Lee
Victoria Lee grew up in Durham, North Carolina, where she spent her childhood writing ghost stories and fantasizing about attending boarding school. She has a Ph.D. in psychology, which she uses to overanalyze fictional characters and also herself. Lee is the author of A Lesson in Vengeance as well as The Fever King and its sequel, The Electric Heir. She lives in New York City with her partner, cat, and malevolent dog.
Buy books on Amazon -
Eliot Schrefer
ELIOT SCHREFER is a New York Times-bestselling author, and has twice been a finalist for the National Book Award. In naming him an Editor’s Choice, the New York Times has called his work “dazzling… big-hearted.” He is also the author of two novels for adults and four other novels for children and young adults. His books have been named to the NPR “best of the year” list, the ALA best fiction list for young adults, and the Chicago Public Library’s “Best of the Best.” His work has also been selected to the Amelia Bloomer List, recognizing best feminist books for young readers, and he has been a finalist for the Walden Award and won the Green Earth Book Award and Sigurd Olson Nature Writing Award. He lives in New York City, where he reviews bo
Buy books on Amazon -
Lisa Bunker
Lisa Bunker has written stories all her life. Before setting up shop as a full-time author she had a 30-year career in non-commercial broadcasting, most recently as Program Director of the community radio station in Portland, Maine. Besides Maine she has made homes in New Mexico, the LA area, Seattle, the Florida panhandle, and New Hampshire. She now lives in Sacramento, CA with her wife Dawn, an expert on anxiety in children and an author in her own right. Between them they have three grown children. From 2018 to 2022 Lisa represented the town of Exeter in the New Hampshire House of Representatives. Her other active interests include chess, birding, choral singing, and playing the bass.
Buy books on Amazon -
Rahul Kanakia
Rahul Kanakia’s second novel, WE ARE TOTALLY NORMAL, is out in March 2020 from HarperTeen. Her first book, ENTER TITLE HERE (Disney '16) was a Junior Library Guild selection and was reviewed by the New York Times. Her stories have appeared in Clarkesworld, Lightspeed, F&SF, and others. She lives in San Francisco with her wife and daughter.
Buy books on Amazon -
Tobly McSmith
Tobly McSmith is the co-creator/writer of eight somewhat successful musical parodies, including Friends! The Musical Parody and The Office! The Musical Parody. Tobly was born in Texas. He now lives in New York City with his two cats, Bam-Bam and Bananas McSmith. Tobly is proud to be transgender.
Buy books on Amazon -
Anand Prahlad
Anand Prahlad is the author of the Permafrost Prize-winning memoir The Secret Life of a Black Aspie. He has published two books of poems, Hear My Story and Other Poems and As Good As Mango, as well as poems and creative nonfiction in literary journals such as Fifth Wednesday, Water~Stone Review, Copper Nickle, Pleiades, The Chariton Review, and Natural Bridge. He recently completed a new collection of poetry, Hijra, which focuses on black, third gender identity.
Buy books on Amazon
Prahlad has also published critical articles and books on black folklore and the proverb, including Reggae Wisdom: Proverbs in Jamaican Music and African American Proverbs in Context, and he has edited the three-volume set The Greenwood Encyclopedia of African American Folklore and t -
Ylva Karlsson
Ylva Karlsson är en svensk författare bosatt i Bagarmossen utanför Stockholm. Sedan 2009 är hon ledamot i Svenska barnboksakademin.
Buy books on Amazon -
Vidyamala Burch
VIDYAMALA BURCH is founder and codirector of Breathworks, an organization offering mindfulness-based approaches to living well with chronic pain, illness, and stress and with teachers in over 15 countries. She is the author of LIVING WELL WITH PAIN AND ILLNESS, based on her acclaimed program, and YOU ARE NOT YOUR PAIN.
Buy books on Amazon -
Tanya Katerí Hernández
Tanya Katerí Hernández, is the Archibald R. Murray Professor of Law at Fordham University School of Law, where she teaches Anti-Discrimination Law, Comparative Employment Discrimination, Critical Race Theory, The Science of Implicit Bias and the Law: New Pathways to Social Justice, and Trusts & Wills. She received her A.B. from Brown University, and her J.D. from Yale Law School, where she served as Note Topics Editor of the Yale Law Journal.
Buy books on Amazon
Professor Hernández, is an internationally recognized comparative race law expert and Fulbright Scholar who has visited at the Université Paris Ouest Nanterre La Défense, in Paris and the University of the West Indies Law School, in Trinidad. She has previously served as a Law and Public Policy Affairs -
Salma Hussain
SALMA HUSSAIN (she/her) grew up in the U.A.E., and immigrated to Canada when she was thirteen years old. She has a B.A. (Hon.) in English Literature, with a concentration in creative writing from the University of Calgary, a law degree from the University of Calgary, and a Masters in Law from McGill University. Her short stories and poems have been published in filling Station, West Coast Line, Other Voices, and in the anthology Homebound: Muslim Women Poetry Collection (Outburst Press). She is a graduate of the Humber Summer Writing Workshop and won the International Festival of Authors’ Litjam short story competition (2018). She was also a mentee in the Diaspora Dialogues long-form mentorship program in 2019. She lives in Toronto.
Buy books on Amazon -
Casper E. Falls
Casper E. Falls (he/fae) is a genderqueer, disabled story ghost with mostly good intentions. When he isn’t fighting the follies of a mortal body or typing away on his electronic typewriter, fae loves buddy reading with faer wife, battling zombies as a cheese-obsessed Victorian mouse (TTRPG), and falling in love with video game characters that will inevitably break his heart. If you’re looking for faer, just follow the trail of cats and there he’ll be.
Buy books on Amazon
He is passionate about intersectionality & disability justice and aims to reflect this passion in his work. -
Jessica Mary Best
Jessica Mary Best is a multi-award-winning freelance writer/editor, an amateur singer/songwriter and a well-intentioned ball of pure quivering anxiety. She is based out of Columbus, Ohio. Her previous projects include the scripted audio dramas THE STRANGE CASE OF STARSHIP IRIS and KEEP IT STEADY. She was also a staff writer on Hartlife NFP's critically acclaimed podcast UNWELL: A MIDWESTERN GOTHIC MYSTERY.
Buy books on Amazon -
James Cross Giblin
James Cross Giblin was an American children's author and editor, known for his award-winning works. He won the Golden Kite Award and the Sibert Medal for his contributions to children's literature. Giblin was born in Cleveland and raised in Painesville, Ohio. He graduated from Western Reserve University and earned a master's in playwriting from Columbia University. After a brief acting career, he entered publishing, founding Clarion Books, a children's imprint later acquired by Houghton Mifflin. At Clarion, he edited works by notable authors like Eileen Christelow and Mary Downing Hahn. Giblin’s works include The Life and Death of Adolf Hitler and Good Brother, Bad Brother.
Buy books on Amazon -
Louise Hawes
I live in North Carolina, where time moves more slowly than it did in New York. That means my day can include writing, working with new writers, yoga, and hanging OUT with my sweet teacher, Mother Nature.
Buy books on Amazon
I have two grown children, both teachers. They are, deliciously and, to me always surprisingly, among my two best friends on the planet.
I'm a teacher as well as an author, serving proudly on the faculty at Vermont College of Fine Arts in the MFA in Writing for Children and Young Adults Program, and at Mainely Writing, an intensive week-long writing retreat on the coast of you know which beautiful New England state.
What's new? A collaborative graphic novel, A FLIGHT OF ANGELS, comes out from Vertigo/DC Comics in November! -
-
Jennifer C. Nash
Jennifer C. Nash is Associate Professor of African American and Gender and Sexuality Studies at Northwestern University, author of The Black Body in Ecstasy: Reading Race, Reading Pornography, also published by Duke University Press, and editor of Gender: Love.
Buy books on Amazon -
Mara Moody
Mara Moody is a California-based romance reader and writer. She loves books featuring captivating heroines, swoony love interests, and quick-witted banter. Mara crafts entertaining tales that invite readers on an emotional journey filled with laughter, tears, and heartwarming moments.
Buy books on Amazon
As a dedicated fan of the genre, Mara's goal is to bring joy to readers who crave love stories and happily-ever-afters. -
Stacey Kwong
Stacey Kwong was born and raised in Los Angeles, California, to immigrant Chinese parents. From reselling phones in high school, to starting a failed clothing line in college, it was as if she was wired to start her own business. But, she struggled to find her passion. She and her business partner found success through boba, with MILK+T, a Los Angeles-based food-truck concept, featuring the first self-serve boba bar on wheels. With tens of thousands of delicious, high-quality drinks sold, MILK+T proudly grew to three owned-and-operated stores in Los Angeles, California, Portland, Oregon, and Las Vegas, Nevada.
Buy books on Amazon -
Marc Acito
For those who do not know me, I'm very famous. My debut novel, How I Paid for College: A Novel of Sex, Theft, Friendship and Musical Theater won the Oregon Book Awards' Ken Kesey Award for the Novel although I sometimes leave out the Oregon part to make it sound more important. It was also selected as a Top Ten Teen Pick by the American Library Association, though it still has not achieved my ultimate goal of being banned by irate fundamentalists. The New York Times chose College as an Editors Choice, it's been optioned for film by Columbia Pictures and is translated into five languages I can't read, though I can now say "cunnilingus" in Norwegian.
Buy books on Amazon
FUN FACT #1: My name is also an anagram for "A Comic Art," or "A Comic Rat," depending on how -
Tabitha Lord
WRITER'S DIGEST GRAND PRIZE WINNER 2016
Buy books on Amazon
Tabitha's HORIZON series has won seven independent book awards. In addition to writing novels and short fiction, Tabitha is managing editor for the Inkitt Writer's Blog and a partner and senior writer for Book Club Babble. She lives in Rhode Island with her husband, four kids, and various fur babies. -
Jo Clifford
Jo Clifford is one of the generation of Scottish playwrights who put the Traverse on the international theatrical map in the late 1980s with her Losing Venice, Lucy’s Play, Playing with Fire, Ines de Castro and Light in the Village. With her Great Expectations she became the first openly trans playwright to have a play running in London’s West End.
Buy books on Amazon
James McMillan wrote the music to transform her Ines de Castro into an opera (Scottish Opera/Edinburgh International Festival). Other work for the Edinburgh International Festival includes Schism in England (National Theatre of Great Britain), Anna (Traverse Theatre), Life is a Dream (The Lyceum, Edinburgh) and Celestina (Birmingham Rep).
Other translations and adaptations include Faust Parts 1 & 2 -
Ekiuwa Aire
Ekiuwa Aire was born and raised in Benin City, Edo, Nigeria. Ekiuwa’s passion for African history emerged when she left Nigeria for Canada in 2007. When she became a mother, Ekiuwa realized that there were not a lot of resources to introduce African history to her young children. She wanted her kids (and other kids) to develop an appreciation for African history and to value the wisdom and pride that will come from this knowledge. This desire spurred her to write her first picture book about Queen Idia, Idia of the Benin Kingdom.
Buy books on Amazon -
Enfys J. Book
Enfys J. Book (they/them) is an author, priestx, blogger, teacher, performer, singer, songwriter, and comedian. They wrote the Gold COVR award-winning Queer Qabala: Nonbinary, Genderfluid, Omnisexual Mysticism & Magick (Llewellyn, June 2022); co-authored (with Ivo Dominguez, Jr.) Sagittarius Witch (Llewellyn, 2024); and wrote the forthcoming Queer Rites: A Magickal Grimoire to Honor Your Milestones with Pride (Llewellyn, 2025).
Buy books on Amazon
They are also a founding member of the “funny, filthy, feminist, fandom folk” band The Misbehavin’ Maidens, the creator of a website on queer magick called majorarqueerna.com, and the host of a podcast called “4 Quick Q’s: Book Talk with Enfys,” where they interview pagan authors using questions determined by a roll o -
K.A. Connolly
K.A. Connolly lives in New England with her family and two cats who sow chaos with abandon. She regularly embarks on quests of various sizes. She has written two books.
Buy books on Amazon -
Noah Lemelson
Noah Lemelson is a speculative fiction writer based in Los Angeles. He received his MFA in Creative Writing at the California Institute of the Arts, where he studied under the mentorship of Brian Evenson. Noah has previously published short fiction in online magazines such as “Space Squid,” “Allegory,” and “Silver Blade.” You can find more of Noah’s work at Noahlemelson.com
Buy books on Amazon
His debut novel, The Sightless City, was released by Tiny Fox Press in 2021. Its sequel, The Lioness and The Rat Queen, was released in August 2023 -
Lee Allen Howard
Lee Allen Howard, MA, MFA, writes horror, LGBTQ horror, supernatural crime, dark mystery, and psychological thrillers.
Buy books on Amazon
His pubs include THE COVENANT SACRIFICE, DEATH PERCEPTION, THE SIXTH SEED, THE ADAMSON FAMILY, PERPETUAL NIGHTMARES, THE BEDWETTER, MAMA SAID, DESPERATE SPIRITS, NIGHT MONSTERS, and SEVERED RELATIONS. -
Nadine Pinede
Nadine Pinede is a poet, author, editor, and translator. The daughter of Haitian immigrants who were forced into exile by dictatorship, she graduated magna cum laude from Harvard and earned her master’s from Oxford University, an MFA from the Whidbey Writers Workshop, and a PhD in Philosophy of Education with a minor in Philanthropic Studies from Indiana University. Her professional experience includes working with the American Refugee Committee and Grantmakers without Borders, where she co-led a delegation to Haiti to support the activist and Goldman Environmental Prize winner Chavannes Jean-Baptiste. Her grant writing funded a mentorship program for artists with disabilities and a multi-year summer camp on sustainable development. Nadine
Buy books on Amazon -
Heather Wardell
I am a natural 1200 wpm speed reader and the author of twenty-three self-published novels including the free ebook "Life, Love, and a Polar Bear Tattoo" which has had over 400,000 downloads.
Buy books on Amazon
In my spare time, I read, run, swim, crochet, take care of my cat Pearl, and play drums and clarinet. Generally not all at once.
I only record books here if I absolutely love them and hugely recommend them. I definitely read more than you see here. :) -
Kiana Krystle
Kiana Krystle is a proud third generation Asian American, born and raised in California. She got her start in publishing as an editorial intern at Flux Books and Jolly Fish Press, and continued her growth as a fellow at BookEnds Literary. Through her writing, Kiana hopes to inspire and empower readers to embrace their true authentic selves and seek magic in their everyday lives. Dance of the Starlit Sea is her debut novel. Stay up to date with Kiana on social media at @kiana_krystle.
Buy books on Amazon -
Shahd Alshammari
Shahd Alshammari is a literature professor and lives with Multiple Sclerosis. She writes about illness, women's bodies, and gender.
Buy books on Amazon -
Nicole Zelniker
Nicole Zelniker (she/they) is the indie author of several books, including FROM WHERE WE ARE, which has been nominated for a Pushcart Prize, and the newly published ALL I KNOW SO FAR. She’s also the founder of Knee Brace Press, which is an online literary magazine devoted to stories about disability and mental health.
Buy books on Amazon
In her free time, Nicole enjoys re-reading her favorite books, talking about the intersection of queerness and chronic illness on the internet, and cuddling her formerly semi-feral tabby cat. You can keep up with them on TikTok at @nicolewritesbooks or Threads, Bluesky, and Instagram at @nicolezelniker. -
Allister Thompson
Allister Thompson is a musician and professional book editor based in North Bay, Ontario, Canada. He has released dozens of albums in the genres of psychedelic rock, progressive rock, folk, and ambient. He has also edited countless novels in all genres in his 20+ years in the publishing industry.
Buy books on Amazon
Outside of literature and music, he really likes trees and rocks, which are abundant where he lives.