E.J. Schwartz is an award-winning author who loves cozy sweaters, skincare, and a24 films. In high school, she was a competitive gymnast and briefly on an all-star cheer team that was eighth in the world. Now that she no longer flips on a daily basis, she writes a lot about people who do. 

After graduating from Susquehanna University with a B.A. in creative writing and a minor in publishing, E.J. went on to get her MFA from the University of North Carolina Wilmington. There, she spent her time teaching, volunteering, roller skating, and learning how to grow plants. Her published work can be found in The New York Times, Pithead Chapel, Barrelhouse, and Best Microfiction, among others.

E.J. is the author of Before We Were Blue, a YA novel pitched as Netflix’s CHEER meets Girl, Interrupted, which won this year’s gold IPPY award and is a 2021 Foreword INDIES Book of the Year Awards Finalist! Kirkus called the novel, “a gut-wrenching and cathartic page-turner about identity, desire, and the strength it takes to heal.” E.J. is represented by Kaitlyn Johnson at Belcastro Agency. She tweets @byEJSchwartz.