For downloadable author photos, book covers, book-specific bios, and book information, please visit my Media Kit page!
A. J. Sass (he/they) is an author whose narrative interests lie at the intersection of identity, neurodiversity, and allyship. He is the critically acclaimed author of the ALA Rainbow Book List Top 10 titles Ellen Outside the Lines, which was also a Sydney Taylor Honor Book, and Ana on the Edge, as well as the co-author of Camp QUILTBAG (with Nicole Melleby). All three books are Junior Library Guild Gold Standard selections.
A. J. is the author of the upcoming middle grade book Just Shy of Ordinary (Little, Brown, 2024), the picture book Shabbat Is … (Little, Brown, 2024), and a contributor to the This Is Our Rainbow (Knopf Books for Young Readers), Allies (DK/Penguin Random House), and On All Other Nights (Abrams, 2024) anthologies.
When he’s not writing, A. J. figure skates and travels as much as possible. He lives in the San Francisco Bay Area with his husband and two cats who act like dogs. Visit him online at sassinsf.com and follow him @matokah on Twitter, TikTok, and Instagram.
A. J. is represented by Jordan Hamessley at JABberwocky Literary Agency.
Notables
Essays
- TIME magazine: I’m a Nonbinary Author of Youth Literature. J.K. Rowling’s Comments on Gender Identity Reinforced My Commitment to Better Representation, June 19, 2020
- Susan Dennard’s newsletter guest post: How They Write a Novel: Bonus Lesson with A.J. Sass, October 2020
- Little, Brown Books for Young Readers School & Library newsletter guest post: All paths to self-discovery are valid, however winding, October 2020
- LGBTQReads guest post: Uncertainty as Opportunity: Why It’s Okay To Not Know Everything About Your Identity Right Away, October 2020
Interviews
- US Figure Skating Fanzone: Andrew Sass: ‘My childhood love for skating remains strong’, June 2021
- Books Beyond Binaries: Meet A.J. and Ana!, November 2020
- We Need Diverse Books: Q&A with A.J. Sass, author of ANA ON THE EDGE, October 20, 2020
- Geeks OUT: Interview with A.J. Sass, author of ANA ON THE EDGE, October 23, 2020
- Class of 2K20 Books: Lorien Lawrence interviews A.J. Sass for ANA ON THE EDGE, October 20, 2020
- Let’s Get Lit Fest #LGBTQ+ Week: Group Interview with A.J. Sass, Anna Birch, Jesse Nolan Bailey, & Suzanne Clay, May 11, 2020
- Ask the Author: An April 2020 interview in which I answer questions from the Proust Questionnaire
- #WriteMentor Success Story: A.J. Sass: An October 2018 Q&A between mentor Caroline Murphy and me
- QueryTracker: Success Story: An email interview, completed in October 2018
- Fiction Writing Figure Skater: An August 2018 writerly interview with Kristy Lin Billuni at Sexy Grammar
Scholarships, Craft Mentorships, etc.
- Mentor: We Need Diverse Books, 2023
- Mentor: Author Mentor Match, 2021
- Mentor: Pitch Wars, 2021 & 2019 (co-mentor with Nicole Melleby)
- Mentor: #WriteMentor, 2019 & 2020 (co-mentor with Hannah Kates)
- Mentee: #WriteMentor, 2018 (paired with author Caroline Murphy)
- SCBWI Diverse New Member Scholarship: San Francisco North and East Bay, 2018 (writer category)
- Diversity Scholarship: Children’s Book Academy, 2018 Middle Grade Mastery class
Et Cetera
- Judge: 2020 Penguin Random House Creative Writing Awards, in partnership with We Need Diverse Books
- Reader: 2019 & 2020 #WriteMentor Children’s Novel Award
- Judge: 2017 Shut Up & Write! Zine
- Co-editor: Chelsea Station Magazine, August 2016 edition (featuring queer trans masculine writing)
Just the Facts
Name: I write under my initials A. J., but feel free to call me Andrew 🙂
Pronouns: He/him/his or they/their/them – your choice!
Location: San Francisco Bay Area, California.
Origin: I call California home now but I grew up all over the Midwest and South. At various points in my life, I lived in Wisconsin, Minnesota, Nebraska, Iowa, the Upper Peninsula in Michigan, and Georgia.
Relationship (two-legged): Deven, my creative and wonderfully witty partner.
Relationship (four-legged): Amato (“Amo”) and Alistair, the cats who can fetch.
Education:
- I studied psychology, Jewish studies, history, and languages (mostly Semitic, plus French) at the University of Minnesota.
- I attended law school at University of the Pacific McGeorge School of Law in Sacramento.
Hobbies:
- Cartwheels on ice
- Willing people and plots into existence with the mere tippety-tap of my fingers
- Learning languages
- Traveling to new places (bonus points if they have ice rinks)
- Tea-tasting
- Latte sampling
- High-volume book accrual