Cat Aquino (they/them) is the writer of Champion of the Rose, an anti-colonial young adult fantasy manga series co-created and illustrated by Dominique Duran, forthcoming from VIZ Originals, VIZ Media.

Granted the Otherwise Award fellowship for excellence in writing gender in speculative fiction, their stories and research have been published by Strange Horizons, Routledge, Berghahn Books, and other Southeast Asian literary magazines. Born and raised in Manila, they moved to Glasgow, Aarhus, and Barcelona to pursue an Erasmus Mundus International Master’s degree with a distinction in Children’s Literature, Media and Culture. They currently live in London, where they edit fantasy, science fiction, and horror novels for teens and adults.

Photo by JJ Agcaoili