Mari Ness spent much of her life wandering the world and reading. This, naturally, trained her to do just one thing: write. Her short fiction and poetry have appeared in numerous print and online publications, including Reactor.com, Clarkesworld, Lightspeed, Fireside, Apex Magazine, Daily Science Fiction, Nightmare,  Strange Horizons, Uncanny, Nature Futures, and Haven Spec.  Reactor.com has featured several of her essay series, including On Fairy Tales, The Disney Read-Watch (shortlisted for a Stabby Award) The Pixar Rewatch, and Travels Through Fairyland (a reread/study of all 40 of the original Oz books, plus related material.)

Several poems have been nominated for the Rhysling, Dwarf Stars and Elgin Awards; a flash fiction story, “Verisya,” was shortlisted for the Canopus Award; and in 2025, her poem, Ever Noir, was among the first six finalists for the Hugo Award for Best Poem. In 2026, another poem, Care for Lightning, was among the first six finalists for the Nebula Award for Best Poem.

Mari currently lives in central Florida, and can be contacted at mari_ness at hotmail.com.