CJ Connor (he/they)

CJ Connor is a Pitch Wars alumnus who primarily writes queer romance and cozy mysteries. Their debut cozy mystery novel Board to Death is forthcoming from Kensington Books. They are represented by Jessica Faust at BookEnds Literary Agency. When they are not writing, they can generally be found perusing art museums, listening to angsty folk music, or stress knitting. Their main goal as a writer is to make their dog proud. This one’s for you, Yoda!

After graduating college, I wrote a contemporary romance which I entered in Pitch Wars and was chosen by Mary Ann Marlowe as a 2019 mentee. Following the Pitch Wars showcase, I wrote a cozy mystery because I was frustrated with how few queer cozies there were. I signed with my agent Jessica Faust in 2021 and in March 2022, I announced my debut novel BOARD TO DEATH, a queer cozy mystery forthcoming from Kensington Books.

“I love the idea of a writing mentorship focused on LGBTQ writers. Revising and querying can be hard for new writers to navigate. I couldn’t have done it without those that provided mentorship to me, and I would love to help queer writers who are in a similar place.”

CJ will be helping the QF Team this year, but will not be mentoring.