(pronounced “Cat Akino”, they/them/siya)

is a twenty-six-year-old award-winning queer Filipino author, editor, researcher, and teacher. They are represented by Paloma Hernando of Einstein Literary Management. Champion of the Rose (co-created and illustrated by Dominique Duran) is their debut graphic novel.

Cat was born and raised in Manila but now lives in London, where they edit fantasy and science fiction novels for teens and adults at Daphne Press. They hold an Erasmus Mundus International Master degree in Children’s Literature, Media, and Culture from the University of Glasgow, Aarhus University, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Tilburg University, Wroclaw University, and the University of British Columbia with a distinction and specializations in justice, anti-colonialism, trauma, and memory in children’s and young adult books and media.