TEHLOR KAY MEJIA (he/him) is a bestselling and award winning author of queer books for all ages.

His debut young adult novel, We Set the Dark on Fire, received six starred reviews, as well as the Oregon Spirit Book Award for debut fiction, and the Neukom Institute Literary Arts Award runner up honor for debut speculative fiction. It was featured on Seventeen, Cosmopolitan, and O by Oprah Magazine’s best books lists, and was a 2019 book of the year selection by Kirkus and School Library Journal. The sequel, We Unleash the Merciless Storm, followed to continuing acclaim. In 2020 he released a co-write, Miss Meteor, with fellow queer Latinx author Anna-Marie McLemore. His recently concluded second YA duology, Lucha of the Night Forest and Lucha of the Forgotten Spring, released from the Make Me a World imprint headed by Christopher Meyers. They have received multiple starred reviews, as well as the former receiving an International Latino Book Award in the Young Adult Fantasy and Adventure category. Tehlor was also thrilled to contribute to the beloved Addams Family franchise when he novelized the hit Netflix show Wednesday, that title was released from Random House Children’s Books in 2024. His fifth offering in the young adult space, Marrow, a dark academia story starring a trans main character, is forthcoming from Wednesday Books in 2027.

Tehlor’s debut middle grade novel, Paola Santiago and the River of Tears, was published by the Rick Riordan Presents imprint at Disney/Hyperion. It received four starred reviews, and was named Amazon’s best book of 2020 in the 9-12 age range, and has sold over a hundred thousand copies worldwide. The second and third installments in the trilogy have also received critical acclaim and are beloved by young readers. He was able to contribute to another beloved childhood franchise, Are You Afraid of the Dark? when he published his first graphic novel, The Witch’s Wings and Other Terrifying Tales, in 2023 with Abrams Fanfare. His standalone middle grade title It Happened to Anna, published by Delacorte, was his first in the middle grade horror space. It received glowing trade reviews and a star from Booklist. The follow up, The Better to Eat You With, is forthcoming in late summer 2025 with a third middle grade horror to follow in 2026.

In 2023 Tehlor expanded into the adult romance space with a queer romcom from Ballantine Bantam Dell. Sammy Espinoza’s Last Review published to rave reviews and received praise from reigning romance queen Emily Henry who called it “A sexy, funny, sweet story about second chances and found family.” His second standalone romance, Cash Delgado is Living the Dream, followed in 2024 and is a reader favorite as well as receiving critical acclaim for its portrayal of a later-in-life coming out story. Tehlor’s third offering in the romance space will be published under a pen name from Avon in 2027.

Across their varied body of work, Tehlor strives to create stories which showcase the importance of community, radical inclusion, and abolitionist values. He lives with his child, wife, and two dogs in his home state of Oregon, and is active on Instagram and Bluesky @tehlorkay.