Amanda Kooser (she/they) is a journalist, rocker, and a 2022 graduate of the University of New Mexico creative writing MFA program. Their publications include short stories and poetry in TriQuarterly, Stanchion, Chestnut Review, Saturday Evening Post, and Vast Chasm. She lives in Albuquerque, New Mexico with a pink 1956 DeSoto filling the garage.

By day, Amanda covers space and quirky science stories as a freelancer for CNET and Forbes.com. By night, they play a sparkly Telecaster in indie-rock/Americana bands The Dawn Hotel and So Dark a Train. She’s a fourth-degree black belt in Aikido and is fascinated by railroads, history, family dynamics, and the role of regret in our lives.

Amanda is part of a writing team with her mother, Kerry Eilleen. The duo is developing a series of historical mystery novels that explore botany, myth, art, and the drive for women’s independence in the early 1900s. Discover more at https://www.hardywomen.com/