Kendra Fortmeyer grew up in the lushly magic swamp-woods of North Carolina. She now lives and writes in Austin, Texas, where she received an MFA in fiction from the New Writer's Project. A former teacher and youth librarian (and forever feminist), she's had the great joy of working with heaps of hilarious, brilliant and wonderful teens, and is passionate about giving their voices a home in her work. She's worked as a wilderness ranger in the Blue Ridge Mountains, tried her hand at blacksmithing, and drinks an absurd amount of tea.

A recipient of a grant from the Elizabeth George Foundation, Kendra won a 2017 Pushcart Prize for her story "Things I Know to Be True" and she is a member of the Clarion Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers' Workshop class of 2016.