Liz Vaughan is a writer, editor, and literary designer from North Carolina. Their creative writing appears or is forthcoming in F(r)iction, Fractured Literary, and White Wall Review, among other venues. They are currently earning their MFA in fiction from UNC Wilmington as a teaching assistant in the Publishing Laboratory. They also plan to earn UNCW’s Professional Post-Baccalaureate Certificate in Publishing. They are currently an agent intern for Martin-Newens Literary Management and an editorial assistant for Lookout Books. They are a 2026 participant in the McCormack Writing Center’s Speculative Online Workshop (formerly Tin House), will the support of a Student Research Grant from UNCW’s College of the Humanities, Social Sciences, and the Arts. They hold a BA in English from UNC Chapel Hill.
They view literary genre as an exciting source of creative exploration rather than a set of rigid categories. Most of their work can be described as speculative fiction, but they have also published literary fiction, nonfiction, and poetry. The recurring themes of their work include identity, community, and how modern sociopolitical systems impact both. Writers who inspire them include Ursula K. Le Guin, Tamsyn Muir, and Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah.
Their historical horror-mystery piece “Hunger, Faith, & Fire” was selected as UNCW’s fiction nomination for the AWP Intro Journals Project in November 2025. Their urban fantasy short story “The Hollow Sea” received an honorable mention in The Vincent Brothers Review‘s Waves contest in June 2025. They are currently revising a YA Gothic fantasy novel, set in the same world as their short story “Mirrorless” (Coffin Bell Journal, 2024), and writing an adult epic fantasy novel. When not writing or editing, they can likely be found exploring a local library.
