Cynthia Pelayo

Cynthia Pelayo is a Puerto Rican-born American author, poet, and journalist known for her work in horror, crime fiction, and poetry, including the Bram Stoker Award-winning poetry collection *Crime Scene* (2022), making her the first Puerto Rican and first Latina recipient of the award.[1][2] She holds degrees including a BA in Journalism from Columbia College Chicago, an MS in Marketing from Roosevelt University, and an MFA in Writing from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, and is co-publisher of Burial Day Books.[1][2] Her notable publications include novels like *Children of Chicago* (2021), *The Shoemaker’s Magician* (2023), and *Forgotten Sisters* (2024), as well as contributions to Marvel Comics.[1]