Christen Randall (they/she) grew up in the American South as one of those girls–the sort that stick out for being too fat or too poor, for being a “slow reader” or a loud mouth, for being, you know, a little funny or a little too sensitive. And like those girls do, she learned it was much easier to exist in this world with a story on her side. For lack of reflection of herself in the ones she read, she started writing her own.

Now, Christen writes Young Adult fiction that centers queer, fat, geeky kids. Their work is about classism, counter culture, mental illness and disability, queer identity, music as a love language, and cats without being about those things. On their good days, you can find Tennessee Williams and Rainbow Rowell in her words. On the bad ones, you’ll find a lot of cussing. These things, as they say, happen.

At present, they live as an Almost Midwesterner in Covington, Kentucky, in a very small house with two inside cats, infinite street cats, and a partner that would for sure love them if they were a worm. There are plants in their windows and too many books on their shelves and a desk in their office often littered with unpainted D&D miniatures or tarot cards or wayward craft supplies.

You can find Christen on most socials as @ByCRandall.