Press Kit
Welcome, members of the press. Below you will find biographies at three lengths, fast facts, novel summaries, and downloadable assets, all cleared for editorial use. For anything not covered here, please reach out to me with my Contact Form.
About Judah Mahay
Judah Mahay is an Alaskan-raised author of literary science fiction and fantasy whose work subverts genre by grounding the fantastic in the grit of the mundane. He grew up on a family homestead, dirt floor and all, and spent years as a jet boat captain for his family’s business in Talkeetna, navigating uncharted river whitewater in the shadow of Denali. That landscape, unforgiving and enthralling, runs beneath everything he writes.
He is an English professor with an MFA in Creative Writing from Stony Brook Southampton, teaching at Millersville University, Penn State Harrisburg, and the Johns Hopkins Center for Talented Youth. A New York Foundation for the Arts grant recipient, he was selected for Robert Wilson’s Watermill Center residency, where he wrote the story collection Watermill Grimoire. His short fiction has appeared in Contrapuntos, Harrisburg Magazine, Sick Lit Magazine, and elsewhere, and he created and hosted the Aroph Stories fiction podcast.
He is a member of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers Association (SFWA) and the Alaska Writers Guild, a past literary judge for storySouth’s Million Writers Award, and a first-place winner of the North Shoreian Magazine annual fiction competition. When not writing or teaching, he plays center in ice hockey.
Short Bio (for programs and listings)
Judah Mahay is an Alaskan-raised author of literary science fiction and fantasy, an English professor at Millersville University, Penn State Harrisburg, and the Johns Hopkins Center for Talented Youth, and a former jet boat captain on Alaska’s Susitna and Talkeetna rivers. He holds an MFA from Stony Brook Southampton, is a New York Foundation for the Arts grant recipient and a Watermill Center residency alumnus, and is a member of SFWA and the Alaska Writers Guild. His novels are represented by Lukas Ortiz of the Philip G. Spitzer Literary Agency. He writes where science reaches the plausible extreme and magic threads into reality.
One-Line Bio
Judah Mahay is an Alaskan-raised literary SFF author, English professor, and former jet boat captain, represented by the Philip G. Spitzer Literary Agency.
Representation
Lukas Ortiz · Spitzer Literary Agency (spitzeragency.com). All rights inquiries for the novels should be directed to the agency.
The Novels
Body Insurance
A fragile utopia that depends upon the deplorable.
High-concept literary science fiction set in the near future. 113,000 words, standalone with series potential. A Frankenstein retelling in the vein of Never Let Me Go, blending the introspection of Blade Runner with the determination of Gattaca.
“Body Insurance is an express train of a science fiction novel, equally thrilling and scary. Judah Mahay does a beautiful job in making us believe the unbelievable. A book for and about the troubling future, which is already here.” Roger Rosenblatt, New York Times bestselling author
The Undying
Dark, character-driven literary fantasy. 129,000 words, standalone with crossover appeal. The introspection of Earthsea woven into the thought-provoking magic of His Dark Materials, tinged with the grit of The Bloodsworn; for readers of Philip Pullman, Susanna Clarke, and Ursula K. Le Guin.
Full pitches, blurbs, and synopsis teases for both novels are on the Novels page.
Fast Facts
- Raised on an Alaskan homestead; former jet boat captain on the Susitna and Talkeetna rivers.
- English professor at Millersville University, Penn State Harrisburg, and Johns Hopkins CTY.
- MFA, Stony Brook Southampton; NYFA recipient; Watermill Center residency alumnus.
- Member of SFWA and the Alaska Writers Guild.
- Two completed literary SFF novels represented by Lukas Ortiz of the Spitzer Literary Agency.
Downloads
- Press Kit (PDF) · [JudahMahay_PressKit.pdf]
- Author Photo (high resolution) · [full-resolution image] · Photo credit: Marc Faubel—credit required for editorial use.
- Author Logo · [logo] · Available on request in alternate formats.
Media Contact
Interview, event, and media inquiries: Contact Form.
Rights inquiries: Lukas Ortiz, Spitzer Literary Agency
Available on request: full synopses, excerpts, complete manuscripts, marketing plan, and additional photography.