Kacen Callender

1 universe Last reviewed 2026-08-18

Kacen Callender was born on September 19, 1989, in Saint Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands, and identifies as Black, queer, and transgender, using they/them and he/him pronouns; Callender publicly debuted their current name in May 2019. They earned a bachelor's degree in Japanese and creative writing from Sarah Lawrence College and an MFA from The New School's Writing for Children program, and worked as an editor at Little, Brown Book Group before their writing career began in earnest in 2018. Callender's work spans middle grade, young adult, and adult fiction, including the middle-grade novels Hurricane Child (2018) and King and the Dragonflies (2020); the young adult novels This Is Kind of an Epic Love Story (2018) and Felix Ever After (2020); and the adult epic fantasy Queen of the Conquered (2019), set in a Caribbean-inspired archipelago and centered on a woman seeking to reclaim her family's throne through dark magic. Other titles include Moonflower, Lark & Kasim Start a Revolution, Stars in Your Eyes, and Infinity Alchemist. Callender's honors include the Stonewall Book Award (2019 and 2021), the Lambda Literary Award for Children's/Young Adult Literature (2019 and 2021), the National Book Award for Young People's Literature (2020), the World Fantasy Award for Best Novel for Queen of the Conquered (2020), and a Coretta Scott King Author Honor (2021).

Universe(s)

Books

• Queen of the Conquered (2019) · Islands of Blood and Storm Core Canon
• King of the Rising (2020) · Islands of Blood and Storm Core Canon

Aggregate across all universes

• Total Core Canon books across all universes: 2 books
• Award recognitions across all universes: 1 (1 won)

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