Nisi Shawl is a writer, editor, and journalist. They are best known as an author of science fiction and fantasy short stories. In addition to writing, they teach about how fantastic fiction might reflect real-world diversity of gender, sexual orientation, race, colonialism, physical ability, age, and other sociocultural factors.Shawl's short stories have appeared in Asimov's Science Fiction, the Infinite Matrix, Strange Horizons, and Semiotext(e). Their first collection, "Filter House," was published in 2008, and won the James Tiptree, Jr. Award. Their first novel, "Everfair," was published in 2016 and was nominated for a Nebula Award.With with Cynthia Ward, Shawl co-authored the creative-writing handbook "Writing the Other: Bridging Cultural Differences for Successful Fiction." The book is derived from the authors' workshop of the same name, in which participants explore techniques to help them write credible characters outside their own cultural experience. It received special mention for the James Tiptree Jr. Award.