Dor Atkinson
middle grade and young adult fantasy author
 

I received my MFA in Theatre Arts at Virginia Tech in 2011. I’m a theatre director and professor at UC Santa Cruz, and I bring food to the local unhoused community. My short fantasy “Frost” appeared in Electric Spec in December ‘20. This year, I received an Honorable Mention for JAREN SILVERWING in the Kids’ Choice Kid Lit contest. I’m a SCBWI member, lead a writers’ group, and have one amazing ND kiddo who believes stories can change the world.

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A few favorite stories in no particular order! Notice any themes? 

Yep, I love an underdog MC who stands up and takes on the system.

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Nimona by ND Stevenson
Peter Nimble and His Fantastic Eyes by Jonathan Auxier
The Thickety by J.A. White

Hoodoo by Ronald L. Smith

His Dark Materials by Philip Pullman

An Ember in the Ashes by Sabaa Tahir

The Prydain Chronicles by Lloyd Alexander

Bartimaeus and Lockwood and Co by Jonathan Stroud

Holes by Louis Sachar

Something Wicked This Way Comes by Ray Bradbury

Piranesi by Susanna Clarke

The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller

Cemetery Boys and Lost in the Neverwoods by Aiden Thomas

Children of Blood and Bone by Tomi Adeyemi
A Wrinkle in Time by Madeline L'Engle

The Book of Boy by Catherine Gilbert Murdock

Tailchaser's Song and the Otherland series by Tad Williams

The Girl With All the Gifts by M.R. Carey

The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms by NK Jemisin

The Dark is Rising series by Susan Cooper

Skyborn series by Jessica Koury

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Favorite films and shows:
Nimona, Renegade Nell, Sweet Tooth, One Piece, 

Lockwood & Co, Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio, 

Return to Oz, Nightbooks, The Dark Crystal,
The Shape of Water, Howl's Moving Castle, 

Ronja the Robber's Daughter, Coco, Avatar: The Last Airbender,
The Dragon Prince, Hilda, Labyrinth, His Dark Materials,
Lovecraft Country, Andor, She-Ra and the Princesses of Power,
Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, and The Mysterious Benedict Society

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Follow on Bluesky: AtkinsonDor.bsky.social