©Katy Weaver Photography
Kelsea Yu is a Taiwanese Chinese American writer who lives in the Pacific Northwest with her husband and children. Whether through a speculative or real-world lens, her writing explores diaspora identity, twists on folklore, complicated interpersonal relationships, and characters who make unconventional choices.
Kelsea’s novella, Bound Feet (Cemetery Gates Media), was nominated for a 2022 Shirley Jackson Award. Her debut novel, It’s Only a Game, is published by Bloomsbury Children’s, and her next novella, Demon Song, is forthcoming from Titan Books in 2025. Her debut adult novel, Stormraven, is forthcoming from Gallery Books and Titan Books in 2026. She has stories published in magazines such as Clarkesworld, Apex, PseudoPod, and Fantasy, and in various anthologies. Her nonfiction has been published in Nightmare, Apparition Lit, Sarah Gailey’s Personal Canons Cookbook, and elsewhere.
During Kelsea’s time as a first reader khōréō, the magazine received an Ignyte Award, two Hugo nominations, and a Locus nomination. She is also an active member of SFWA, HWA, and ITW. Find her on Instagram as @anovelescape or Bluesky as @anovelescape.bsky.social. She is represented by Jennifer Azantian of Azantian Literary Agency.