Stephanie Lynwood

Steph has been a writer for as long as she can remember, writing fantastical stories as a child and building elaborate worlds well into her teens. After graduating university, dreams of being an author fell by the wayside as working full-time left her with too little energy to devote to creative pursuits. As it turned out, Steph found out she was neurodivergent in her early thirties, and in redesigning her life to properly accommodate herself and to recover from burnout, her priorities finally leaned once again towards writing and the healing power of creating characters and letting them run around causing mischief in her head.

She is a lover of fantasy and science fiction, and under the pen name Stephanie Lynwood, writes stories that centre queer characters and the human relationship and connection to the natural world. She is currently working on her debut novel, inspired by both the works of Hayao Miyazaki and of British and Celtic folklore, about breaking out of the quarter life crisis and finding the magic in the mundane again.

Some of her favourite books, films and TV series that also provide sources of inspiration include Becky Chambers' Wayfarers books, Krystle Matar's Legacy of the Brightwash, Star Wars (yes, all of it), Avatar: The Last Airbender, Sense8 and Firefly. When not writing, Steph can be found weightlifting and practicing her snatch, clean and jerk in her home gym, out hiking in rural Nottinghamshire or curled up reading a book surrounded by soft blankets and an army of plushies.