Michael A. Pepin is an American writer of speculative fiction with too many notebooks and not enough bookshelves. He lives in Austin, TX with four snakes, two cats, and a wife. A former teacher, he now reads for Escape Pod as an associate editor. Despite the grueling summertime heat, he’s pictured here with 30 pounds of gear for the Texas Renaissance Festival.

He was manufactured in Arizona, shipped to Indiana, and got started by writing snippets of fanfiction on the back of homework assignments, much to the annoyance of his teachers. The Pokémon Mystery Dungeon franchise left him inspired to pursue writing as a career, and he’s been doomed ever since.

After pursing a BFA in Creative Writing from the University of Evansville, Michael relocated to Austin, TX to marry the love of his life. He’s worked as a SPED teaching assistant, and then as a 7th grade English teacher. Language is a He is a strong advocate for mental health, and for the inclusion of neurodiverse characters in fiction.

Michael’s writing is 100% human created (and sometimes handwritten). There is no space for Gen-AI in writing or art.