Valerie Sirenko

About

Valerie Sirenko believes stories can change people's lives.

Valerie Sirenko is a speculative fiction writer living in the Bay Area, California. Her debut fantasy novel, Echoing Howl, will be released Spring 2027. Her best-of nominated story, "Just Listed: Hardwood Floors and a Generous Curse," was recently published in Orion's Belt. Her work has also appeared in Eldritch Science and the anthology Fire and Ash. She is an alum of the Futurescapes Writers Workshop and a Codex member.

In her academic work, she taught literature and writing at the University of Texas at Austin and Seattle Pacific University. Her scholarship and book reviews have appeared in journals such as American Literature. She received her Ph.D. in English in 2019.

"Just Listed: Hardwood Floors and a Generous Curse"

Nominated for ECO25: The Year's Best Speculative Ecofiction

Author Valerie Sirenko looking off into a forest

New Fiction Out Now in the Fantasy Anthology FIRE AND ASH

Available now on Amazon and Kindle

Fiction

Selected Work

Short Fiction

"Just Listed: Hardwood Floors and a Generous Curse" How hard could it be to sell a haunted house? After a recent heartbreak, Lucille needs a new home, but the 3-bedroom her realtor shows her may be cursed.
READ NOW in Orion's Belt
Nominated for ECO25: The Year's Best Speculative Ecofiction

"The Firebird Plains" The firebirds dive for the biggest, shiniest targets—which is usually us.
READ NOW in Eldritch Science

"How Not to Retire from Dragon Hibernation Maintenance" Sherry, a dragon hibernation maintenance worker, just wants to retire and take a long overdue vacation. Instead, she wakes a dragon.
OUT NOW! in FIRE AND ASH. Order on Amazon

ECHOING HOWL

Art Credit Hillary Bardin

COMING SPRING 2027

GoT X Wolves

Warrior Cats for Adults

Ryka's survived long enough without a pack to know she can take care of herself. She just needs one good hunt to fill her belly, then she can move on. But every alpha turns her away. She's too scrawny from a year of scavenging, and she was born without a channeling jewel that would allow her to access the elements. While some wolves can channel air to bring scents closer, or channel vines to wrap around their prey, Ryka can do none of that. It's not fair, but it's a reality she's learned to accept.

When Onyx, Quicksand, and Spring give her a chance, she's grateful for the meal, but she knows better than to stick around. Branded wolves are stalking the border, and the scent of an unidentified species is fouling the air. When a strange wolf spouts an absurb theory about growing channeling jewels in those born without them, Ryka has to decide what she's willing to do and what she's willing to sacrifice to become a wolf who doesn't have to beg for anything.

For fans of Redwall, His Dark Materials, and Watership Down.

Academics

Research and Scholarship

An article on African American Literature and Critical Race Theory in American Literature (2023)
A book chapter on Pauline Hopkins, the first Black US speculative fiction writer in Yours for Humanity: New Essays on Pauline Elizabeth Hopkins, ed. JoAnn Pavletich. University of Georgia Press, 2022.
An article on early US culture featuring author Charles Brockden Brown in Early American Literature (2022)
A cultural studies piece on Maria Amparo Ruiz de Burton and nineteenth-century Latinx Literature in Western American Literature (2020)
An analysis of James Fenimore Cooper's early work in ESQ: A Journal of American Literature and Culture (2017)

Teaching

Valerie has taught courses on Writing and Rhetoric, Literary Analysis, American Literature, African American Literature, Southern Literature, and Racial and Social Justice

Say hello

For rights, events, or teaching inquiries:

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