Mary Anne Mohanraj

Mary Anne Mohanraj is a Clinical Associate Professor of English at the University of Illinois at Chicago, specializing in speculative fiction and South Asian diaspora literature. She founded Strange Horizons, a Hugo-nominated speculative literature magazine, and Jaggery, a journal for South Asian writers. Her work explores themes of ethnicity, sexuality, and identity through novels like Bodies in Motion (a USA Today Notable Book) and The Stars Change. Mohanraj has received awards including the Illinois Arts Council Fellowship and a Breaking Barriers Award. She also serves as Executive Director of DesiLit and the Speculative Literature Foundation, and directs the Kriti Festival of Art and Literature.

Her research focuses on intersectional narratives in speculative genres, blending science fiction with cultural critique. Recent publications appear in Clarkesworld, Asimov's, and Lightspeed, alongside nonfiction essays in Roxane Gay’s Unruly Bodies. Mohanraj’s creative works include cookbooks like A Feast of Serendib and forthcoming titles Vegan Serendib and Jump Space.

Community involvement includes school board service in Oak Park, Illinois, and futurist advisory roles with the XPrize and Plurality University. Her writing often addresses marginalized voices through innovative storytelling, bridging literary and popular genres.