Picture a Chicago storyteller who spins tales where wormholes hide in furniture stores and time bends around queer identities—meet Nino Cipri! A genderqueer and trans/nonbinary author, Cipri crafts speculative fiction that’s as thought-provoking as it is wildly entertaining. Their stories, like the dimension-hopping Finna and the time-traveling The Shape of My Name, blend humor, heart, and sharp critiques of capitalism, making them a standout voice in science fiction and fantasy.
With a life as eclectic as their prose, Cipri’s journey from puppeteer to bike mechanic to award-nominated writer infuses their work with gritty authenticity. Let’s dive into the world of Nino Cipri, where the strange and the real collide in unforgettable ways.
The Making of Nino Cipri
Born and raised in Chicago, Nino Cipri’s path to writing was anything but conventional. Before penning speculative fiction, they wore many hats: stagehand, bookseller, labor organizer, and even puppeteer. This diverse background shaped their storytelling, grounding fantastical narratives in the realities of low-wage work and queer experiences. A graduate of the 2014 Clarion Writers’ Workshop, Cipri honed their craft with an Illinois Arts Council grant, later earning an MFA in fiction from the University of Kansas in 2019. Influences like Ursula K. Le Guin and Charlie Kaufman’s screenplays inspired their bold, experimental style.
Nino Cipri’s Unforgettable Stories
Cipri’s fiction is a kaleidoscope of queer identity, anti-capitalist satire, and speculative wonder. Their novella Finna (2020) follows two ex-partners navigating a multiverse inside a not-quite-IKEA store to rescue a lost customer. Packed with carnivorous furniture and biting humor, it’s a finalist for Hugo, Nebula, and Lambda awards. Its sequel, Defekt (2021), dives deeper into retail hell with a British Fantasy Award win. The Shape of My Name (2015), a heart-wrenching time-travel tale, explores family and trans identity, earning a James Tiptree Jr. Award nomination. Cipri’s short story collection Homesick (2019), a Dzanc Short Fiction Collection Prize winner, weaves uncanny tales of alienation and belonging, cementing their knack for innovative storytelling.
Their style is fearless—blending horror, humor, and social commentary with experimental structures. Cipri’s work often critiques late-stage capitalism, drawing from their labor activism and experiences in jobs like bike mechanic at Divvy. Themes of home, identity, and resistance resonate, especially for queer and trans readers, making every story a portal to new perspectives.
Why Nino Cipri Matters
Nino Cipri’s impact lies in their ability to make the speculative deeply personal. By centering queer and trans/nonbinary characters, they challenge genre norms, offering representation that feels raw and real. Their anti-capitalist lens, inspired by years of organizing and low-wage work, strikes a chord in a world grappling with inequality. Awards and nominations—World Fantasy, Shirley Jackson, and more—highlight their growing influence. Cipri’s stories don’t just entertain; they invite readers to imagine better futures, making them a vital voice in speculative fiction.
- Birthplace: Chicago, Illinois
- Key Works: Finna, Defekt, Homesick, The Shape of My Name
- Awards: Dzanc Short Fiction Collection Prize, British Fantasy Award, multiple award nominations
Snag Finna or Homesick and dive into Nino Cipri’s mind-bending speculative fiction—you’ll never look at furniture stores the same way again!