Liz Vaughan

Liz Vaughan is a writer, editor, and literary designer from North Carolina. Their creative writing has appeared in NonBinary Review, 100-Foot Crow, and Lambda Magazine, among other venues. They received a BA in English, linguistics, and digital literacy from UNC Chapel Hill, and they are currently earning their MFA in fiction from UNC Wilmington as a teaching assistant in the Publishing Laboratory. They also plan to earn UNCW’s Professional Certificate in Publishing, as their long-term goal is to find a career in book publishing. They have worked on the editorial teams of the literary journals Ecotone, Chautauqua, and Cellar Door. They are currently an agency intern for Martin-Newens Literary Management, and have also been a manuscript copyeditor and program coordinator for the nonprofit organization The Young Writers Initiative. When not writing or editing, they love reading weird books, making jewelry, and learning everything they can.

They view literary genre as an exciting source of creative exploration rather than a set of rigid categories. Most of their work can be classified as speculative fiction, but they have also published literary fiction, creative nonfiction, and poetry. The recurring themes of their work include identity, community, and how modern sociopolitical systems impact both. Writers who inspire them include Ursula K. Le Guin, Tamsyn Muir, and Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah.

Their urban fantasy short story “The Hollow Sea” received an honorable mention in The Vincent Brothers Review‘s Waves contest in June 2025. Their historical horror-mystery piece “Hunger, Faith, & Fire” was selected as UNC Wilmington’s fiction nomination for the AWP Intro Journals Project in November 2025. They are currently drafting a YA Gothic fantasy novel, set in the same world as their short story “Mirrorless” (Coffin Bell Journal, 2024).