Mohanraj, Mary Anne

Mary Anne Mohanraj is a Clinical Associate Professor of Fiction and Literature at the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC), where she teaches creative writing and postcolonial literature. She is an affiliated faculty member with UIC's Global Asian Studies Program and actively contributes to literary communities as founder of the speculative literature magazine Strange Horizons (Hugo-nominated, World Fantasy Award-winning) and Jaggery, a South Asian diaspora literary journal.

Education:

• Ph.D. in Creative Writing (University of Illinois at Chicago)
• MFA in Creative Writing (University of Illinois at Chicago)

Her research and creative work intersect speculative fiction, South Asian diasporic narratives, queer themes, and postcolonial discourse. She explores how cultural identity, sexuality, and technology shape human and alien experiences through literary mosaics combining stories, poems, and art. Her work often challenges normative structures through multicultural, multispecies perspectives.

Scientific Awards & Recognition:

• Breaking Baratures Award (Chicago Foundation for Women) for Asian American arts organizing
• Illinois Arts Council Fellowship in Prose
• Locus Award for her contributions to speculative literature
• World Fantasy Award (Strange Horizons)