Cynthia Pelayo writes fairy tales that blend genre and explore concepts of grief, mourning, and cycles of violence. She is the author of Loteria, Santa Muerte, The Missing, Poems of My Night, Into the Forest and All the Way Through, Children of Chicago, Crime Scene, The Shoemaker’s Magician, as well as dozens of standalone short stories and poems. 

Loteria, which was her MFA in Writing thesis at The School of the Art Institute of Chicago, was re-released to praise with Esquire calling it one of the ‘Best Horror Books of 2023.’ Santa Muerte and The Missing, her young adult horror novels, were each nominated for International Latino Book Awards. Poems of My Night was nominated for an Elgin Award. Into the Forest and All the Way Through was nominated for an Elgin Award and was also nominated for a Bram Stoker Award for Superior Achievement in a Poetry Collection. Children of Chicago was nominated for a Bram Stoker Award in Superior Achievement in a Novel and won an International Latino Book Award for Best Mystery. Crime Scene was nominated for a Bram Stoker Award for Superior Achievement in a Poetry Collection. The Shoemaker’s Magician has been released to praise with Library Journal awarding it a starred review.

Her forthcoming novel, The Forgotten Sisters, will be released by Thomas and Mercer in 2024 and is an adaptation of Hans Christian Andersen’s “The Little Mermaid.”

Pelayo studied journalism at Columbia College in Chicago. She received a Master of Science at Roosevelt University. Later she received a Master of Fine Arts in Writing at The School of the Art Institute of Chicago. At SAIC, she worked with acclaimed author Jessie Ball and playwright Ruth Margraff who were her graduate advisors and who helped support her development of her genre blending approach. She is a doctoral candidate at The Chicago School of Professional Psychology.

Pelayo was born in Puerto Rico but was raised in inner city Chicago where she still lives today with her husband and children. 

As of June 2023, Cynthia has become:

First Latina Bram Stoker Award Winner
First Latina Bram Stoker Award Winning Poet
First Puerto Rican born author to win a Bram Stoker Award

Congratulations, we are so proud of your accomplishments!