This picture of  Sherwood Smith was taken many years ago, when she was pretending to be suave and glam instead of  a nerd with a master’s in history, and a wild variety of jobs from barkeeper at a rough harbor joint to the film industry to teacher, when she wasn’t scribbling stories.

Sherwood Smith has published over sixty books, one of which was an Anne Lindbergh Honor Book; she’s twice been a finalist for the Mythopoeic Fantasy Award and once a Nebula finalist. She teaches writing at Viable Paradise Writing Workshop on Martha’s Vineyard,  and  has a Patreon, where she posts a chapter a day.

Though known primarily as a fantasy writer, Sherwood along with author Dave Trowbridge  collaborated on Exordium, a five-volume space opera, with Rachel Manija Brown on the young adult “hopeful dystopia” series called The Change, and with Andre Norton on four books listed elsewhere.