“And as we watched, the Tsar of Death lifted up his eyelids like skirts and began to dance in the streets of Leningrad.”

American fiction writer, poet, and literary critic

Catherynne M. Valente is an American fiction writer, poet, and literary critic. She is known for speculative fiction, and her work has earned the James Tiptree, Jr. Award, the Andre Norton Award, and the Mythopoeic Award. Her short fiction has appeared in Clarkesworld Magazine and in anthologies such as Salon Fantastique and Paper Cities, along with several Year's Best volumes. Her criticism has also been published in the International Journal of the Humanities and in other essay collections.