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.[1] Their fantasy novel, Queen of the Conquered, is the 2020 winner of the World Fantasy Award[2] and King and the Dragonflies won the 2020 National Book Award for Young People's Literature.[3]

Kacen Callender
Born1989 (age 31–32)
St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands
LanguageEnglish
NationalitySaint Thomian
EducationBA in Japanese and Creative Writing, MFA in Writing for Children
Alma materSarah Lawrence College, The New School
GenreYoung adult fiction, middle grade fantasy
Notable worksHurricane Child
Notable awardsStonewall Book Award • Lambda Literary Award • National Book Award for Young People's Literature
Years active2018-present
Website
kacencallender.com

Personal life

Callender was born and raised in Saint Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands.[4] Callender also has a bachelor's degree from Sarah Lawrence College in Japanese and Creative Writing and a MFA from The New School’s Writing for Children program.[5]

Prior to becoming an author, Callender was an editor at Little, Brown.[6] In 2018, in reaction to Hurricane Irma, Callender launched the online auction #USVIPubFund, under which they and other book publishing professionals raised $104,000 to support the U.S. Virgin Islands.[7][8][9]

Callender is Black, queer, trans, and uses they/them and he/him pronouns.[10][11] Callender debuted their new name when announcing their next young adult novel Felix Ever After in May 2019.[12]

They currently live in Philadelphia.[13]

Critical reception

Their debut novel, Hurricane Child, about a twelve-year-old born during a hurricane who believes herself to be cursed, was published by Scholastic in 2018 and received the Stonewall Book Award in 2019.[1]

Both Hurricane Child and Callender's young adult debut, This is Kind of an Epic Love Story, were nominated for a 2019 Lambda Literary Award in the category LGBTQ* Children's/Young Adult.[14] Hurricane Child went on to win the award.[15]

Their second young adult novel, Felix Ever After, is about a transgender teen who catfishes a classmate for revenge and ends up falling for him.[12] Felix Ever After was published with Balzer + Bray in 2020 and sold together with This is Kind of an Epic Love Story in November 2017.[12][16]

King and the Dragonflies, Callender's second middle-grade novel that explores race and sexuality, was published in 2020.[17] It received a starred review from School Library Journal,[18] Horn Book,[19] and Publishers Weekly.[20]

Their adult debut, Queen of the Conquered, was published by Orbit in 2019. It's set in a Caribbean-inspired world and tells the story of a black protagonist fighting back against colonizers.[21] It received starred reviews from Kirkus Reviews[22] and School Library Journal.

Bibliography

Middle Grade

  • Hurricane Child (Scholastic, 2018)
  • King and the Dragonflies (Scholastic, 2020)

Young Adult

  • This is Kind of an Epic Love Story (Balzer+Bray, 2018)
  • Felix Ever After (Balzer+Bray, 2020)

Fantasy

  • Islands of Blood and Storm Series
    • Queen of the Conquered (Orbit, 2019)
    • King of the Rising (Orbit, 2020)

Awards

Won

  • 2019 Stonewall Children's and Young Adult Literature Award for Hurricane Child[23]
  • 2019 Lambda Literary Award in LGBTQ* Children's/Young Adult for Hurricane Child[15]
  • 2020 National Book Award for Young People's Literature for King and the Dragonflies[3]

Nominated

  • 2019 Lambda Literary Award in LGBTQ* Children's/Young Adult for This is Kind of an Epic Love Story[24]

References
  1. HCHO (2019-01-28). ""Julián is a Mermaid" and "Hurricane Child" win 2019 Stonewall Children's and Young Adult Literature Award". News and Press Center. Retrieved 2019-04-08.
  2. "World Fantasy Awards 2020". World fantasy Convention. World fantasy Convention. Retrieved 2020-08-28.
  3. "National Book Awards 2020". National Book Foundation. Retrieved 2020-11-19.
  4. "In Brief: January 17, 2019". www.publishersweekly.com. Retrieved 2019-04-08.
  5. "Callender Kheryn". Brooklyn Book Festival. Retrieved 2019-04-08.
  6. Adler, Dahlia (2018-07-12). "Better Know an Author: Kheryn Callender". LGBTQ Reads. Retrieved 2019-04-08.
  7. "PubforPR Auction Exceeds Fundraising Goal for Hurricane Relief". PublishersWeekly.com. Retrieved 2019-04-08.
  8. Staff, Source (2018-03-17). "St. Thomas Native Raises $104,000 Online for Hurricane Relief". St. Croix Source. Retrieved 2019-04-08.
  9. Staff, LORI ABBOTTS Daily News. "V.I. author Kheryn Callender raises more than $100K for hurricane relief". The Virgin Islands Daily News. Retrieved 2019-04-08.
  10. Rish, Jocelyn. "Kheryn Callender, author of THIS IS KIND OF AN EPIC LOVE STORY, on writing a novel that's fun". Adventures in YA Publishing. Retrieved 2019-04-08.
  11. "Episode 54! The PW Publishing Industry Salary Survey, 2018: Conversation with Kheryn Callender, PART 1". KIDLIT WOMEN*. Retrieved 2019-04-08.
  12. "Rights Report: Week of May 20, 2019". www.publishersweekly.com. Retrieved 2019-05-28.
  13. "Expectations Vs. Reality by Kheryn Callender". 88 Cups of Tea with Yin Chang. 2019-01-14. Retrieved 2019-04-08.
  14. Nast, Condé. "Announcing the 2019 Lambda Literary Awards Nominations". them. Retrieved 2019-04-08.
  15. "Congratulations to the Winners of the 2019 Lambda Literary Awards!". Book Marks. Retrieved 2019-06-05.
  16. "Rights Report: Week of November 13, 2017". www.publishersweekly.com. Retrieved 2019-05-28.
  17. Nicole (June 17, 2019). "Kacen Callender's 'King and the Dragonflies' Announced". Nerds and beyond.
  18. Kacen, Callender. "King and the Dragonflies". School Library Journal. Retrieved 2020-02-23.
  19. Bracy, Pauletta Brown. "Review of King and the Dragonflies". The Horn Book. Retrieved 2020-02-23.
  20. "King and the Dragonflies". www.publishersweekly.com. Retrieved 2020-02-23.
  21. "YA Author Kacen Callender on Transgender Characters and Writing for Teens". Philadelphia Magazine. 2019-11-03. Retrieved 2020-02-23.
  22. QUEEN OF THE CONQUERED | Kirkus Reviews.
  23. admin (2009-09-09). "Stonewall Book Awards List". Round Tables. Retrieved 2019-04-08.
  24. Glyer, Mike (2019-03-07). "2019 Lambda Literary Awards Nominees". File 770. Retrieved 2019-04-08.
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