Raven Oak

Raven Oak (born December 21, 1977) is an American author and artist whose written works range from science fiction & fantasy to cross-genre. She is most known for her bestselling epic fantasy, Amaskan's Blood, and her space operas, Class-M Exile and The Eldest Silence. She wrote her first novel, a 320-page fantasy work at age twelve. She is a member of the LGBTQ+ community and is disabled from both a birth defect in the lower spine and an auto-immune disease. She is also a pianist and songwriter, whose musical works deal with the survival side of life. Currently residing in Seattle, Washington, Oak is currently focusing on writing and art full-time.

Early life Oak grew up in many places around the U.S. including California, Michigan, Oklahoma, Florida, and Texas, where she eventually attended Richland College and later the University of North Texas as a music major. A military child, her family moved frequently until they settled in Texas in 1989. Her maternal grandmother was a public school teacher in California and under her tutelage, Oak was reading and writing at age three.

Oak knew "since the age of five" that she "wanted to be a writer," a wish that never changed through the years. "They said I could be anything, do anything. So I did!" Before that, she wrote a children's novel titled "The Fish and the Lion," which was published as part of a case study on childhood literacy for the University of Florida. While Oak learned how to critique, she struggled with finding her own voice. It wasn't until her late twenties that she felt her craft was up to par. She is also a member of several PNW writing groups.

Her first fantasy novel, Amaskan's Blood, was published in January 2015 by a small publisher, Grey Sun Press, and was followed up in 2018 by its sequel, Amaskan's War. Oak also hinted in a 2015 interview at a standalone novel featuring the character Ida Warhammer from Amaskan's Blood. Class-M Exile, a science fiction novella, was released in June 2015. The Eldest Silence, which takes place in the same universe as Class-M Exile, will be released in 2023. Two stories, "The Ringers" and "Ol' St. Nick", were released in a mystery/speculative fiction collection with mystery author, Maia Chance, award-winning science fiction author Janine Southard, and fantasy author Gayle Clemans. The collection, entitled Joy to the Worlds: Mysterious Speculative Fiction for the Holidays was accompanied by a book tour with the four authors. Her short story "Mirror Me" was published on October 15, 2016, in Magic Unveiled: An Anthology by Creative Alchemy, Inc. and later as a reprint in Issue 0 of Mercedes Lackey's Fantasy Quarterly Magazine. Three connected short stories from the Boahim Series were published in consecutive anthologies (Hidden Magic, Wayward Magic, and Forgotten Magic) by Magical Mayhem Press, and featured fan-favourite character, Ida, from Amaskan's Blood.

Oak's tie-in short story, "Scout's Honor", was published in 2020 as part of a Kickstarter project by PNW artist, Jeff Sturgeon, entitled The Last Cities of Earth. The anthology was picked up by Kevin J. Anderson's WordFire Press and republished in January 2022. The stories take place on a post-apocalyptic Earth after the eruption of Yellowstone, as seen in Jeff Sturgeon's artwork. The anthology also includes stories by Jody Lynn Nye, Kevin J. Anderson, Brenda Cooper, David Gerrold, and others. Her short story, "Weightless," was published in The Great Beyond Anthology in 2020 and focuses on the ableist focus of space travel. It was later reprinted in Soul Jar: Thirty-one Fantastical Tales by Disabled Authors. Her story "Learning to Fly," was to be published in the It Has Pockets Anthology by Clockwork Dragon but the anthology was cancelled when one of the co-editors died in 2021. Queer Sci-Fi's Ninth Annual Flash Fiction Contest Anthology featured Oak's story "Wrinkled," in 2022, where it picked up an "Honorable Mention."

"Eye of the Beholder," co-written with author Jennifer Brozek, was published in Gen Con's Writer Symposium Anthology entitled Interdimensions in 2024 from Atthis Arts. A special edition was available at the convention itself, followed by a trade publication version.

"The Things We Do for Love during the Apocalypse" was published in Adversity & Audacity: SF & F from Cancer Survivors in 2025 from Paper Golem LLC. The book features stories from speculative fiction authors who were or are battling cancer and began as a Kickstarter before being printed worldwide in 2026.

Her "Flashback Friday," column focuses on science-fiction or fantasy novels that influenced writers, and has featured authors J. L. Forrest, Django Wexler, and best-selling author, Veronica Scott. An avid gamer since the days of the NES and GEnie, she reviews various tabletop games in her weekly column, "Monday Night Gaming." She also contributed a short essay in Ursula K. Le Guin: A Brief Tribute

The Boahim Trilogy In Amaskan's Blood, Book I of the Boahim Trilogy, the heroine of the novel is an Amaskan, one of Boahim's assassins tasked with ensuring justice across the Little Dozen Kingdoms. In the land of Boahim, Amaskan's are holy assassins and feel they work for the greater good. When asked about this in a 2015 interview, Oak said, "They truly believe they are serving justice and the greater good. They feel certain people should die because they are...murderers or rapists...Adelei learns the hard way that it's not always that simple."

Over the course of the novel, she discovers that her past is a lie. She can trust no one, not even her family. Despite her training and struggles, she fights to see justice through to the end. It's been called her most personal novel to date as it was heavily influenced by her own reconnection with her estranged mother. "It has a coming-of-age arc of typical epic fantasy, with the seedy underbelly of what makes a family and what makes us believe as we do." and became an Amazon bestselling fantasy on February 19, 2015, a little over a month after its release. It was also a 2016 Ozma Fantasy Award winner and a 2019 Readers' Favorite Bronze Award Winner for YA Epic Fantasy.

The trilogy continues with Book II, Amaskan's War, published on August 1, 2018, was a finalist in the UK Wishing Shelf Book Awards for Best Young Adult Book. The trilogy finishes with Book III, Amaskan's Honor, publishing on September 16, 2025. A stand-alone book entitled Ear to Ear: The Collected Stories of an Amaskan will be published in 2026.

Class-M Exile Class-M Exile is a space opera novella, also through Grey Sun Press. The novella focuses on society's fear of the unknown, and the prejudices societies carry. In a discussion on the Hugo nominated Skiffy & Fanty Show, Oak said, "Some of the same diversity issues we're dealing with now across the United States are themes in this novella."

The main character—a four-eyed, three-legged alien with a fake Texas drawl—has spent his life researching humans. "[Eerl's] never seen one, never met one, because they don't really exist anymore. And then he meets one." The story follows Eerl in his quest to find out what a fish is while defending Mel (a human) from the prejudice of the universe.

Class-M Exile was a Top 100 Hot New Release on Amazon UK and ranked as an Amazon US bestseller in space opera on June 24, 2015. In an interview with the author, members of the podcast SciFi Diner said, "[Class-M Exile] really does do what [Star] Trek does, in that it functions well in social commentary. If you like science fiction that really deals with social commentary...you need to check this book out! You need to put this author on your radar."

Joy to the Worlds Joy to the Worlds: Mysterious Speculative Fiction for the Holidays was named a 2015 Foreword Review Book of the Year Award finalist and was listed in the Seattle Times as a #1 Bestselling paperback locally. The book was also a #1 Hot New Release in Amazon Sci-Fi Anthologies and a Top 100 Bestseller in Amazon Holiday Stories.

From the Worlds of Raven Oak From the Worlds of Raven Oak is an art book illustrated and written by Oak, featuring scenes, characters, and settings from her various novels and short stories.

Voices Carry In 2024, Oak released a non-fiction memoir entitled Voices Carry: A Story of Teaching, Transitions, & Truths which focused on her life growing up, teaching, and writing as a disabled, non-binary queer in Texas. Taking its name from the song by 'Til Tuesday, the book explores themes of discrimination and self-identity, mostly through the lens of a former educator. The song Voices Carry was instrumental in alerting Raven Oak that her childhood was not normal, something she wrote about both in the book and in The Big Idea, a blog series hosted by fellow science fiction writer John Scalzi.

Adaptations In August 2016, Class-M Exile made it to the stage as part of the Seattle Literary Festival Bibliophilia. This three-day festival, run by improv-actor, writer, and editor, Jekeva Phillips, "combines... theatre and literature into a cross-disciplinary storytelling celebration." Oak began the festival by reading chapter one from Class-M Exile on opening night. The reading was followed by a re-enactment of the story by a local improv troupe, CSz Seattle.

Music career While Oak continued writing novels throughout college, she began her university studies as a music composition and theory major, her primary instrument is the piano. A piano player since the age of five, she was gifted with the ability to play by ear. The CD's sales donated to RAINN, the Rape, Abuse, and Incest National Network. RAINN, founded by musician Tori Amos, is America's only national hotline for rape and abuse. Through her lengthy support and advocacy of RAINN, Oak was listed as a corporate partner of the non-profit organization.

Of Oak's music, Score! Music says: "Perfectly stunning musical compositions that, though they lack vocals, do not lack in emotional impact; it’s as though one can venture inside Oak’s being through her beautiful piano work. Think Tori Amos unplugged and without lyrics." Splendid Magazine says, "...Oak transcends the damning excesses of the Lilith Fair ghetto...if it's the job of a musician to tell stories through her instruments, Raven Oak does her job exceedingly well."

Her music career is currently on hiatus with an unknown release date for her second album, titled "Fight or Flight."

Awards for Oak's Writing