Susan E. Connolly is an Irish writer who works in a broad range of formats, including comics, screenwriting, short fiction, novels, and non-fiction. Her first novel, the children’s fantasy Damsel, was published by Mercier Press in 2009. Susan’s short fiction has appeared in DailyScienceFiction and her non-fiction has appeared in Clarkesworld, Strange Horizons, The Center For Digital Ethics and the fanzine Journey Planet. She is the writer of Gráinne O’Malley: Queen’s Gambit, a historical comic book from Atomic Diner, chronicling the meeting between Granuaile, Ireland’s Pirate Queen, and Queen Elizabeth I of England. Susan was the winner of the BBC’s Scriptroom 7 with her children's pilot Monsters Bite. She was also one of eight entrants selected for the 2018 FrightFest New Blood Workshop with mentors Jack Tarling, Barbara Crampton, Jenn Wexler and Giles Edwards. In 2019, Susan received an Emerging Artist Bursary from Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown County Council. Susan completed a degree in Veterinary Medicine and a diploma in Statistics at University College Dublin, and is a student at St John’s College, University of Cambridge, where she is pursuing a PhD with the Medical Research Council Biostatistics Unit. She has strong opinions about the accurate portrayal of animal sidekicks in fiction. Susan is available for in-depth discussions on the biology of mythical animals, though may go into excessive detail on why gryphons are the worst-designed of all mythological creatures. At one point, she was the highest-ranked competitive debater in Ireland, so if you are pro-gryphon, be aware that you will likely lose this argument. Susan is from Ireland, near the mountains. Also near the sea. Also near the forest (Ireland is a small country).