Ben Francisco is a queer Puerto Rican writer who lives in Brooklyn with their husband, Juan. Their stories range from magic realism to space opera and have been published in Podcastle, Fireside Fiction, and From Macho to Mariposa: New Gay Latino Fiction. Ben recently won the Indiana Review Fiction Prize. Their first novel, Val Vega: Secret Ambassador of Earth, will debut in early 2024. Visit them at benfrancisco.net.