Mackenzi Lee (born Mackenzie Van Engelenhoven) is an American author of books for children and young adults. She writes both fiction and non-fiction about topics including sexuality and the role of women throughout history.

Life and career

Lee has a

Master of Fine Arts A Master of Fine Arts (MFA or M.F.A.) is a terminal degree in fine arts, including visual arts, creative writing, graphic design, photography, filmmaking, dance, theatre, other performing arts and in some cases, theatre management or arts admini ...

from

Simmons University Simmons University (previously Simmons College) is a private university in Boston, Massachusetts. It was established in 1899 by clothing manufacturer John Simmons. In 2018, it reorganized its structure and changed its name to a university. Its ...

in writing for children and young adults. Lee's first book, 2015's ''This Monstrous Thing,'' was a retelling of

Frankenstein ''Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus'' is an 1818 novel written by English author Mary Shelley. ''Frankenstein'' tells the story of Victor Frankenstein, a young scientist who creates a sapient creature in an unorthodox scientific ex ...

and earned Lee the Susan P. Bloom Children's Book Discovery Award. In the promotional period for this book, she began posting on

Twitter Twitter is an online social media and social networking service owned and operated by American company Twitter, Inc., on which users post and interact with 280-character-long messages known as "tweets". Registered users can post, like, and ...

under the

hashtag A hashtag is a metadata tag that is prefaced by the hash (also known as pound or octothorpe) sign, ''#''. On social media, hashtags are used on microblogging and photo-sharing services such as Twitter or Instagram as a form of user-generated ...

#BygoneBadassBroads, sharing biographies of notable women beginning with

Mary Shelley Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley (; ; 30 August 1797 – 1 February 1851) was an English novelist who wrote the Gothic fiction, Gothic novel ''Frankenstein, Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus'' (1818), which is considered an History of scie ...

. This project grew in popularity, and in 2018, Lee published ''Bygone Badass Broads: 52 Forgotten Women Who Changed the World''. Her second novel, entitled ''The Gentleman's Guide to Vice and Virtue'', was a

New York Times Best Seller ''The New York Times'' Best Seller list is widely considered the preeminent list of best-selling books in the United States. John Bear, ''The #1 New York Times Best Seller: intriguing facts about the 484 books that have been #1 New York Times ...

and earned a

Stonewall Book Award The Stonewall Book Award is a set of three literary awards that annually recognize "exceptional merit relating to the gay/lesbian/bisexual/transgender experience" in English-language books published in the U.S. They are sponsored by the Rainbo ...

for its portrayal of a

bisexual Bisexuality is a romantic or sexual attraction or behavior toward both males and females, or to more than one gender. It may also be defined to include romantic or sexual attraction to people regardless of their sex or gender identity, whi ...

young man in 18th-century

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

. This novel led to a series of books featuring the Montague siblings and a diverse set of characters whose struggles are presented in an era that didn't necessarily respect diversity. She has contracted with

Marvel Marvel may refer to: Business * Marvel Entertainment, an American entertainment company ** Marvel Comics, the primary imprint of Marvel Entertainment ** Marvel Universe, a fictional shared universe ** Marvel Music, an imprint of Marvel Comics ...

to write three historical fiction books featuring Marvel antiheroes, beginning with a story about

Loki Loki is a god in Norse mythology. According to some sources, Loki is the son of Fárbauti (a jötunn) and Laufey (mentioned as a goddess), and the brother of Helblindi and Býleistr. Loki is married to Sigyn and they have two sons, Narfi or Na ...

out in September 2019 under the title Loki: Where Mischief Lies. She is openly bisexual.

Bibliography

* ''This Monstrous Thing'' (2015) * ''The Gentleman's Guide to Vice and Virtue'' (2017) * ''Bygone Badass Broads: 52 Forgotten Women Who Changed the World'' (2018) * ''All Out: The No-Longer-Secret Stories of Queer Teens throughout the Ages'' (contributing writer) (2018) * ''The Radical Element: 12 Stories of Daredevils, Debutantes & Other Dauntless Girls'' (contributing writer) (2018) * ''The Lady's Guide to Petticoats and Piracy'' (2018) * ''The History of the World in Fifty Dogs'' (2019) * ''The Gentleman's Guide to Getting Lucky'' (2019) * ''Loki: Where Mischief Lies'' (2019) * ''Gamora & Nebula: Sisters in Arms'' (2021) * ''The Nobleman's Guide to Scandal and Shipwrecks'' (2021) * The Winter Soldier: Cold Front (2023)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lee, Mackenzi 21st-century American women writers American women novelists American young adult novelists Simmons University alumni American LGBT writers 21st-century American novelists Living people Year of birth missing (living people)