Shannon Barnsley

Fiction Writer

Brooklyn, NY
New York US
Twitter/X: 

Author's Bio

Shannon Barnsley is a writer, poet, and folklore devotee from New Hampshire, currently living in Brooklyn. She holds a degree in Creative Writing/Mythology & Religion from Hampshire College. Since graduating, she has been found giving tours at an 18th century Shaker village museum, translating English English into American English for an independent publishing company, wandering in the woods, and trying to recover from two strokes while managing an unruly gaggle of chronic illnesses.

Her first book, Beneath Blair Mountain, was published by 1888 in 2015. Her other work can be found in Mighty: an Anthology of Disabled SuperheroesBut You Don't Look Sick: The Real Life Adventures of Fibro Bitches, Lupus Warriors, and Other Super Heroes Battling Invisible Illness; Nothing Without Us; Witch Lit: Words from the Cauldron; Wolf Warriors I-V; The Cost of Paper: Volume ThreeFabulously FeministThe Concord Monitor; Redhead Magazine; and The Climax. Shannon has a particular love of folklore, folk/epic/oral tradition, worldbuilding, and all manner of storytelling. Much of her work is inspired by this passion, her pagan upbringing, and the New England wilderness she calls home.

Publications & Prizes

Anthologies:
Mighty: an Anthology of Disabled Superheroes (Renaissance Press, 2023)
,
But You Don't Look Sick: The Real Life Adventures of Fibro Bitches, Lupus Warriors, and Other Super Heroes Battling Invisible Illness (Indie Blu(e) Publishing, 2021)
,
Nothing Without Us (Renaissance Press, 2019)
Book:
Beneath Blair Mountain (Black Hill Press, 2015)
Prizes won: 

JukePop Summer Writing Project 2015 Finalist, Redhead Magazine 2013 Choice Story, and Wordpress Freshly Pressed.

Personal Favorites

Favorite authors: 
Robin Hobb, Jhumpa Lahiri, Alison Croggon, Signe Pike, Jan Brett, J. R. R. Tolkien, Jeannine Hall Gailey, Jane Yolen, Marjane Satrapi, Charles de Lint, Philip Pullman, Tamora Pierce, Talia Hibbert, Susannah Cahalan, Eleanor Janega, Ray Bradbury, George MacDonald, Euripides, William Shakespeare, Jewel Kilcher, Alex Flinn, Joyce Carol Oates, Carolyne Larrington, Robert Emmet Meagher, Lloyd Alexander, Lois Lowry, A. A. Milne, Robert Frost, Emily Dickinson, T. A. Barron, Greg Pak, Sebastian Girner, Kieron Gillen, Brian K. Vaughan, Marguerite Bennett, Sanjay Patel, Celia Rees, Suzanne Collins, Ann Brashares, Madeleine L'Engle, MacKenzie Bodkin, Wendy Doniger, Simon Roy Hughes.
What I'm reading now: 
Mother Tongue: The Surprising History of Women's Words by Jenni Nuttall, The Kalevala by Elias Lönnrot, Life in a Medieval Village by Frances Gies, The Wolf and the Woodsman by Ava Reid

More Information

Gives readings: 
Yes
Travels for readings: 
No
Identifies as: 
Disabled, Feminist, Irish American
Prefers to work with: 
Adults, Any, Disability, Illness/Wellness, Religious Studies, Spirituality, Women
Fluent in: 
English
Born in: 
Bethesda, MD
Maryland
Raised in: 
Penacook, NH
New Hampshire
Please note: All information in the Directory is provided by the listed writers or their representatives.
Last update: Feb 14, 2026