Darcie Little Badger

Darcie Little Badger is a Lipan Apache scientist and author whose speculative fiction brings Indigenous perspectives, particularly those of the Lipan Apache people, to the forefront of contemporary fantasy and science fiction for young adults. She holds a PhD in oceanography from Texas A&M University, and her scientific background gives her writing a grounded precision that distinguishes it from much of the fantasy genre — even as she conjures ghosts, monsters, and magical traditions rooted in the rich cultural heritage of her people. Little Badger has spoken extensively about her motivation to write stories that feature Indigenous characters in speculative fiction contexts rather than restricting such characters to historical or ethnographic narratives.

Little Badger’s debut novel, Elatsoe (2020), is set in an alternate version of the United States where magic is common and monsters are real, and follows a young Lipan Apache woman named Elatsoe — nicknamed Ellie — who has inherited the family ability to raise the ghosts of dead animals. When her cousin is murdered, Ellie investigates, uncovering a conspiracy that touches on the history of Indigenous peoples and the ongoing effects of colonialism. The novel was an immediate critical success, earning starred reviews and winning the Lodestar Award for Best Young Adult Book at the Hugo Awards, cementing Little Badger’s place as an important new voice in speculative fiction.

Her sophomore novel, A Snake Falls to Earth (2022), is a mythic fantasy that weaves together the stories of a Lipan Apache girl and a cottonmouth snake person from the land of spirits, exploring themes of family, belonging, and the preservation of Indigenous stories and ecological knowledge in the face of their ongoing loss. The novel won the Mythopoeic Award and continued to demonstrate Little Badger’s skill at integrating specific cultural knowledge and worldview into narratives that are universally resonant while remaining distinctly rooted in their origins.

Little Badger’s writing is distinguished by its warmth, its intellectual rigor, and its deep respect for the Indigenous traditions and knowledge systems that inform it. She writes with a scientist’s precision and a storyteller’s heart, creating worlds that feel both magical and real. Her advocacy for Indigenous representation in speculative fiction has made her an important voice in broader conversations about diversity and cultural authenticity in the genre, and her fiction stands as proof that those conversations matter.