Shepard DiStasio (he/they) is a trans, disabled writer with an affinity for dark fantasy and the gothic. He is a Swarthout Award winner in poetry, and his debut novel, VEIL US IN GOLD, was an Indie Ink Awards finalist for Trans/Non-Binary Representation. They have poetry and prose in DOG TEETH, Reverent: An Anthology, Wasteland Review, Lux Creative Review, and a French poetic translation in HFR’s Thousand Languages Project. They also won the Lux Creative Review Poetry Award for 2022. He has 2 cats with his partner, and loves to translate Attic Greek poetry between rereading Gothic novels or replaying Dragon Age and Mass Effect.

Shepard can be found lurking on Twitter.

Agent Contact: Kirsten Lang

J.R. Dawson (she/they) is a writer and educator with shorter works in places such as F&SF, The Year’s Best Science Fiction and Fantasy 2018, and Lightspeed. THE FIRST BRIGHT THING (Tor, 2023) is her first novel, and follows a queer magical circus through time and space. After living in Omaha and Chicago, Dawson now has found a home in Minnesota with her loving spouse and three goofy dogs. She splits her work between teaching at Drexel’s MFA program and assorted nonprofits that bring the power of the performing arts to children in the Midwest.

Tor Books is due to publish THE LIGHTHOUSE AT THE EDGE OF THE WORLD in July 2025.

Agent Contact: Stevie Finegan