Kalynn Bayron

Kalynn Bayron is a classically trained vocalist. She grew up in Anchorage, Alaska. When she’s not writing you can find her listening to Ella Fitzgerald on loop, attending the theater, watching scary movies, and spending time with her kids. This is her first book. In Cinderella Is Dead (Bloomsbury YA) Kalynn Bayron take us 200 years after Cinderella found her prince — but the fairy tale is over. Teen girls are now required to appear at the Annual Ball, where the men of the kingdom select wives based on a girl’s display of finery. If a suitable match is not found, the girls not chosen are never heard from again. Sixteen-year-old Sophia would much rather marry Erin, her childhood best friend. At the ball, she makes the desperate decision to flee, and finds herself hiding in Cinderella’s mausoleum. There, she meets Constance, the last known descendant of Cinderella and her step sisters. Together they vow to bring down the king once and for all–and in the process, they learn that there’s more to Cinderella’s story than they ever knew. It’s a fresh take on a classic story that will make readers question the tales they’ve been told, and root for girls to break down the constructs of the world around them. Shelf Awareness Pro called it “A queer dystopian fantasy that questions written history and societal expectations.”