Justin Torres is an American novelist and an Associate Professor of English at UCLA. He is the author of Blackouts, which won the 2023 National Book Award in Fiction. He is also the author of We the Animals which has been translated into fifteen languages and was adapted into a feature film. The story is loosely based on his childhood upbringing in Baldwinsville, NY, the youngest of three brothers. His short fiction and essays have been featured in The New Yorker, Harper’s, The Washington Post, LA Times Image Magazine, and Best American Essays.