Biography (Official Long)

Author photo of Raven OakMulti-international award-winning and bestselling speculative fiction author and artist Raven Oak (they/them) is best known for Amaskan’s Blood (2016 Ozma Fantasy Award Winner, Epic Awards Finalist, & Reader’s Choice Award Winner), Amaskan’s War (2018 UK Wishing Award YA Finalist), Class-M Exile, and the collection Joy to the Worlds: Mysterious Speculative Fiction for the Holidays (Foreword Reviews 2015 Book of the Year Finalist). They have two dozen short stories published in various anthologies such as Sword, Sorcery, & Self-Rescuing Damsels, The Great Beyond, and Jeff Sturgeon’s The Last Cities of Earth. They’ve even been published on the Moon!

Raven began their career as many authors do, trying to become the next Anne McCaffrey or Connie Willis. At the age of twelve, they took their first steps into novel writing by penning a 320 page novel about dragons with all the drama of a typical twelve-year-old. They studied English literature, music composition, and computers in college, and in 2001, Raven graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of North Texas. They later completed their Master of Science Degree in CECS from UNT in 2005. After thirteen years in the classroom as a computer and English teacher, they retired from education to pursue writing full-time.

Raven is a member of the local Seattle writing groups, Wit ‘n’ Word, and Writing Grounds, as well as the Northwest Science Fiction Society, Cascade Writers, and the Pacific Northwest Writers’ Association. They’re also an Active member in the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers Association (SFWA).

Besides being a writer and artist, Raven is a geeky, disabled ENBY who resides in the Seattle area. They’re married to a game engineer badass, and the two of them often get their game on together, be it tabletop, console, or PC gaming. Raven also enjoys cartography and staring at the ocean, both of which they do from their home on Whidbey Island. Raven and their wife are owned by one disabled kitty who enjoy lounging across the keyboard when writing deadlines approach. Their hair color changes as often as their bio does, and you can find them at www.ravenoak.net.