Though a lifelong writer, Carrie Callahan has only recently found her voice with what she calls Dirt Spec—a style that mixes gritty realism with speculative elements. Dirt Spec comes from her experiences growing up sub working class and not seeing herself reflected in the shiny prose of high-gloss fiction. Writers of the Future is Carrie’s first professional sale, and only the beginning of her exploration of sci-fi through a dirty lens.
As a first-generation college student, Carrie also developed a passion for helping her peers hone their writing, carving space for students to practice and share their writing outside of the classroom. Since graduating, she’s continued to pursue this passion through her YouTube channel, About Write, where she attempts to democratize creative writing education and teach everyone that to be a writer, they don’t have to be perfect—just about right!
When she isn’t writing about imaginary worlds (or teaching others how to), Carrie can be found exploring the digital worlds of virtual reality in VRChat. She lives with her patient husband and adorable dog in the hills of bourbon country Kentucky. www.carriecallahan.com
Yingying is a self-taught artist with an overactive imagination and propensity for daydreaming. Although she graduated with a science degree from the University of Oxford and spent her post-university years working in fields completely unrelated to art, her passion for drawing could not be stemmed and in 2016 she decided to take her interest more seriously, culminating in creating a website and holding a debut exhibition in Tokyo.
Having grown up living on books such as Harry Potter, her love of fantasy and magic often crops up in her drawings. As a Chinese-British national she is also interested in combining western and eastern influences.
Yingying works mostly with digital media and describes her natural style as semi-realistic. She finds endless inspiration in the beauty of nature and from art masters such as John William Waterhouse and Hayao Miyazaki.
Although Yingying has not quite let go of her day job, she continues to develop her art and storytelling skills and takes on freelance projects from private clients.
When not working, she enjoys developing her YA novel, playing the piano, and seeking out the best afternoon teas in the land. www.yingdraws.uk