About author Justina Ireland

Justina Ireland is a New York Times bestselling science-fiction and fantasy author of young adult fiction and the former editor-in-chief of FIYAH Literary Magazine of Black Speculative Fiction, for which she won a World Fantasy Award. Ireland has also been shortlisted for the Hugo, Nebula, and Bram Stoker awards and she won the Locus award for Dread Nation.

She has written numerous books , including Dread Nation, Rust in the Root, and Ophie's Ghosts. Ireland is also one of the primary story architects of the Star Wars: The High Republic multimedia project and has written a number of Star Wars books, including Lando’s Luck, Spark of the Resistance, A Test of Courage, Out of the Shadows, and Mission to Disaster.

In addition to her literary work, Ireland has also been a part of a number of TV writers’ rooms, including Netflix’s The Fall of the House of Usher.

Ireland holds a BA in History from Georgia Southern and an MFA in Writing for Children and Young Adults from Hamline University.

You can find her on Instagram as @justina.ireland, TikTok as @justinaireland, at her website authorjustinaireland.com, and you can find her work wherever great books are sold.

Publications and awards

Tales from Cabin 23 by Justina Ireland, graduate of MFAC program

Tales from Cabin 23

(Middle grade) Balzer + Bray, 2024

  • From Kirkus Reviews: "Dripping with tension, this is a briskly paced, pulse-pounding tale that’s just as heartfelt as it is exciting, with engaging characters who will keep readers invested in the book’s outcome. A hair-raising good time."
Read more about Tales from Cabin 23
Chaos & Flame, by Hamline MFAC alum Justina Ireland (MFA in Writing for Children and Young Adults)

Chaos & Flame

(Young Adult) Penguin Young Readers Group, 2023

  • co-authored with Tessa Gratton 
Read more about Chaos & Flame
Rust in the Root, a YA novel by MFAC alum Justina Ireland

Rust in the Root

(Young Adult) Balzer + Bray, 2022

  • Named as one of Publisher's Weekly Top 20 Books of 2022
Read more about Rust in the Root
Ophie's Ghosts, a middle-grade novel by MFAC alum Justina Ireland (MFA in Writing for Children and Young Adults)

Ophie’s Ghosts

(Middle-Grade) Balzer + Bray, 2022

  • 2022 Scott O’Dell Award for Historical Fiction
  • 2021 Cybils Award in Elementary and Middle-Grade Speculative Fiction Finalist
Read more about Ophie's Ghosts
Deathless Divide, a young adult novel by Justina Ireland, graduate of Hamline's MFA in Writing for Children and Young Adults (MFAC) program

Deathless Divide

(Young Adult) Balzer + Bray, 2020

  • 2021 Locus Award Finalist
Read more about Deathless Divide
Dread Nation, a young adult novel by MFAC graduate Justina Ireland (MFA in Writing for Children and Young Adults)

Dread Nation

(Young Adult) Balzer + Bray, 2018

  • 2019 Locus Award
  • 2019 Lodestar Award for Best Young Adult Book Finalist
  • 2018 Andre Norton Nebula Award for Middle Grade and Young Adult Fiction Finalist
  • 2018 Bram Stoker Awards Finalist
  • New York Times Bestseller
Read more about Dread Nation

Other works by Justina Ireland

Scream Site
(YA Novel) Capstone, 2018

Promise of Shadows
(YA Novel) Simon & Schuster, 2015

Vengeance Bound
(YA Novel) Simon & Schuster, 2014

Star Wars The High Republic: Mission to Disaster
(Middle-Grade Novel) Disney Lucasfilm Press, 2022

Star Wars The High Republic: Out of the Shadows
Disney Lucasfilm Press, 2021

Star Wars: A Test of Courage
Disney Lucasfilm Press, 2021

Star Wars: Spark of the Resistance
Disney Lucasfilm Press, 2019

Star Wars: Lando’s Luck
Disney Lucasfilm Press, 2018

How to stay up to date with Justina Ireland

If you would like to stay up to date with Justina Ireland and her work, you can visit her website www.authorjustinaireland.com.

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