Fantasy author Esther Friesner uses humor and imagination in her writing to question the tropes and clichés about women in general and feminists in particular. Friesner graduated from Vassar College before earning a PhD in Spanish from Yale University, where she taught for several years. Her writing career has been astonishingly prolific: since selling her first short story, “The Stuff of Heroes,” in 1982, she has published 44 novels and more than 200 short stories, poems, and articles, and she has edited eleven anthologies as of 2024. Her work often uses humor to subvert stereotypes, which allows her to talk to a broad audience about issues like gender equality or social justice. In 1996 she began editing her popular Chicks in Chainmail anthologies, in which various authors tackle fantasy tropes like the princess tired of waiting for rescue, or women’s armor that is far more decorative than functional. In 2007 she created her Princess of Myth series of young-adult books, featuring legendary women such as Helen of Troy and Nefertiti rescuing themselves. She has been nominated for and won several Hugo and Nebula Awards, and her 1994 Star Trek: Deep Space Nine novel, Starchild, made the USA Today bestseller list. As of 2024, she is no longer actively writing but still frequently appears at conventions.