Lauren Brazeal Garza is the author of five books of poetry, fiction, and nonfiction including her memoir-in-verse, Gutter (YesYes Books, 2018), which chronicles her homelessness as a teenager, and her literary horror novel, The Devotee (forthcoming), which was inspired by her experiences as a queer woman living in poverty after she aged out of the foster system. She earned her M.F.A in creative writing from Bennington College, and her Ph.D. in Literature from The University of Texas at Dallas with a specialty in testimonial literature and narratives from marginalized voices. She teaches literature at the University of Texas at Dallas.