Justina Ireland

Justina Ireland (born February 7, 1985) is an American science fiction and fantasy author of young adult fiction and former editor-in-chief of the FIYAH Literary Magazine. She received the 2018 World Fantasy Award for Non-Professional Work. Her New York Times bestselling novel Dread Nation won the 2019 Locus Award, and was nominated for the Andre Norton, Bram Stoker, and Lodestar Awards.

Biography As a teen, Ireland had aspirations to become a historian. She enlisted in the military at nineteen, where she would serve as an Arabic linguistics expert.

Dread Nation Her best-known novel, Dread Nation, is an alternate history set in 19th century U.S. In this timeline, the Civil War ends when zombies emerge from their graves at Gettysburg. The enslaved are then freed, but Black and Indigenous children are then trained to fight the undead and protect the nation. The main character, Jane McKeene, is a biracial teen sent to a prestigious combat school where she trains in hopes of being assigned to a wealthy white family.

Dread Nation received largely positive reviews that praised Ireland for her skillful approach to dealing with difficult issues related to slavery and its legacy. Kirkus Reviews wrote, "With a shrewd, scythe-wielding protagonist of color, Dread Nation is an exciting must-read." School Library Journal, in their review, stated, "Ireland skillfully works in the different forms of enslavement, mental and physical, into a complex and engaging story" and declared that the novel is "A perfect blend of horrors real and imagined". Alex Brown of Tor.com wrote, "Dread Nation is the perfect example of why we need more diversity in the YA author pool. Only a Black American woman could write Dread Nation."

Advocacy and activism Ireland is known as an outspoken advocate for diversifying YA literature. Lila Shapiro, in a 2018 article in New York, called her "YA Twitter’s Leading Warrior."

FIYAH (w/ Troy L. Wiggins) World Fantasy Awards Non-Professional

Bram Stoker Awards Young Adult Goodreads Choice Awards Young Adult Fantasy & Science Fiction

Lodestar Award — Locus Award Young Adult Nebula Award Andre Norton Award 2020

Ladies of Horror Fiction Award Young Adult 2021 Locus Award Young Adult