Ailynn Collins grew up reading books about talking animals, magical wardrobes, and aliens from far-away planets. She writes speculative fiction for kids, hoping they’ll fall in love with books the way she did. She has an MFA in Writing for Children and Young Adults from Hamline University, where she was mentored by the most wonderful kidlit authors. Her books includeRedworld – a MG science fiction series, and three books in the Screams in Space series. She’s also written nonfiction about space and the future. She is passionate about diversity in kidlit, writing for the child like her who longed to see herself reflected in books. When not writing, she competes with her 3 Old English Sheepdogs. She also mentors young writers through the nonprofit organization, Society of Young Inklings. In the world of work, she began as a lawyer, then taught as a Montessorian for 26 years, and now teaches English in a French Immersion school. She’s lived in many countries all over the world, and is now comfortably settled in Redmond, WA.