Ben Francisco is a writer of fictions. Their stories range from magic realism to space opera and have been known to feature oversexed ghosts, depressed precognitive psychics, and pantheistic vampire aliens who reproduce like moss. Common themes include cultural misunderstandings, family dysfunctions, LGBTQ experiences, and spiritual searches.
Ben recently won the Indiana Review Fiction Prize for their story “Two People.” Their stories have been published in Fireside Fiction, Podcastle, Realms of Fantasy, Dreaming Again, Lady Churchill’s Rosebud Wristlet, Shimmer, Best Gay Stories, Wilde Stories, From Macho to Mariposa: New Gay Latino Fiction, and It Gets Even Better: Stories of Queer Possibility. Their first novel, Val Vega: Secret Ambassador of Earth, a young adult Latinx space adventure, debuts February 2024.
Ben lives in Brooklyn with their partner and has devoted much of their copious spare time to working for nonprofits advancing LGBTQ rights, immigrant rights, and racial and gender justice.