Kelsey Daly

Kelsey Daly is a young adult and middle grade author based in Minneapolis. ENCHANTING, her debut YA Novel-in-Verse, is a love-letter to queer teens deconstructing from exclusionary faith traditions. She was the recipient of a Minnesota State Artist Initiative Grant for Literary Arts, a MRAC Next Step Fund Grant, and various grants to assist in story-telling projects in recent conflict zone. She has an MA in Writing for Young People from Bath Spa University in England and continues to research, write, and speak on embracing non-traditional formats to reach reluctant and marginalized young readers. Supporting youth writers with their own dazzling, harrowing, fantastical worlds though 826LA and the Loft Literary Center is one of her favorite things. In 2025, she presented at Leaf Journal’s on Writing for Young People Conference on how to craft compelling and imaginative prompts for young writers. Beyond writing, she works as a freelance photographer and is a recovering theatre kid.