Home | C.W. Allen

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Press Kit

Short Bio

C.W. Allen is a Midwestern transplant to rural Utah where she serves as the President of the League of Utah Writers. She writes long stories for children and short stories for former children. Keep up with her latest projects at cwallenbooks.com.

Long Bio

C.W. Allen is a Nebraskan by birth, a Texan by experience, a Hoosier by marriage, and a Utahn by geography. She knew she wanted to be a writer the moment she read The Westing Game at age twelve, but took a few detours along the way as a veterinary nurse, an appliance repair secretary, and a homeschool parent. She writes long stories for children and short stories for former children. When she’s not writing, she helps other writers hone their craft as the President of the League of Utah Writers.

Her debut novel Relatively Normal Secrets is the winner of the Gold Quill award, being named the best children’s book of the year by a Utah author, and was NetGalley’s #1 children’s audiobook of 2022. The Falinnheim Chronicles series continues with The Secret Benefits of Invisibility (Cinnabar Moth, 2022) and Tales of the Forgotten Founders (Cinnabar Moth, 2023). Her forthcoming novella The Hound of Castle Elsinore (Nightfolk Books, 2026) is her first book-length work for adults. She also has shorter work published in numerous anthologies. You can keep up with her latest projects at cwallenbooks.com.

Professional Affiliations

MEMBER
  • The League of Utah Writers
  • Authors Against Book Bans
  • Utah Academy of Sciences, Arts, and Letters (2024 honorary member award, Let Utah Read)
LEADERSHIP
  • The League of Utah Writers​
    • Board member 2019–present
    • Executive committee 2023–present
    • Current President
  • Let Utah Read
    • Board member 2024–2025
  • Inkpot literary journal
    • Masthead 2024–present​

Appearances and Interviews

To invite C.W. Allen to speak at schools, writing conferences, and conventions, or arrange an interview for podcasts, blogs, or media articles, please contact her at cwallenbooks@gmail.com

See presentation list

Social Media Links

Media Links

Interviews

Articles

  • Guest article “The Perks of Writing Holidays” (November 7, 2021)
  • Guest article “Writing Middle Grade: The Power of In-Between” (June 14, 2022)
  • Guest article “Create Your Own Masterclass: Reading with a Student’s Eye” (June 17, 2022)
  • Salt Lake Tribune: “Legislative overreach in Utah bans books that help protect kids from abuse” (September 19, 2024)

Published Works

NOVELS
  • Relatively Normal Secrets (Cinnabar Moth Publishing, 2021)
    • Awards: Gold Quill Award winner, Eric Hoffer Award middle reader runner up, NYC Big Book Award distinguished favorite, First Horizons award finalist, Whitney Award nominee, Cybils Award nominee, Readers’ Favorite starred review, Net Galley’s #1 children’s audiobook of 2022
    • buy link 
    • blurb and cover art
  • The Secret Benefits of Invisibility (Cinnabar Moth Publishing, 2022)
  • Tales of the Forgotten Founders (Cinnabar Moth Publishing, 2023)
  • The Hound of Castle Elsinore (Nightfolk Books, coming June 2026)   
CONTRIBUTOR
  • Body Be Gone anthology: “Mum’s the Word” (Tesseray Publishing, 2020)  read free online
    • Awards: Body Be Gone grand prize winner
  • Inkpot literary journal: “The Raven’s Way” (2021)  read free online
  • Anthology of Hope: “Lullaby for the Weary Grown” (Glass Spider Publishing, 2021)  buy link
    • Awards: Bronze Quill Award winner
  • Strong at Broken Places anthology: “Saturday Magic” (LUW Press, 2021)  buy link
  • Red Rocks in My Socks anthology: “Rules for Hunting Jackalopes” (OdieGroup Press, 2021)  buy link
  • Art and Sedition anthology: “All in a Day’s Work” (LUW Press, 2022)  buy link
    • Awards: Silver Typewriter Award winner
  • Ancestry Data Conglomerate anthology: “The Platinum Option” (FIGID Press, 2022)   buy link
    • Awards: Typewriter Award Recommended Read
  • We Are Dangerous anthology: “Levronia City Jail, 12:36am” (LUW Press, 2023)   buy link
  • Utah’s Best Poetry and Prose 2024 anthology: “The Platinum Option” (LUW Press, 2024)   buy link
  • Write Where You Belong anthology: “Blue Pine Summer” (LUW Press, 2024)    buy link
  • Utah’s Best Poetry and Prose 2025 anthology: “Where There’s a Will, There’s a Wisp” (LUW Press, 2025)   buy link 
    • Awards: Woolley Award winner
  • Creating Hope anthology: “Emily and The Thing” (LUW Press, 2025)    buy link
    • Awards: Woolley Award winner
  • Utah’s Best Poetry and Prose 2026 anthology: “Emily and The Thing” (LUW Press, 2026)    buy link
    • Awards: Woolley Award winner
  • Humanity Through A Lens anthology: Foreword “It All Started When I Met Everett” (LUW Press, coming August 2026)

Photos

Click HERE to access high resolution image files.
Reprints permitted for publicity use. No photographer credit necessary.

Headshot photo of author C.W. Allen, a middle aged white woman with shoulder-length straight brown hair. She is wearing blue eyeglasses and a mustard yellow shirt, standing outdoors against a gold-colored autumn background
Cover of the book Relatively Normal Secrets, by C.W. Allen. Two children stand in a forest at night. Loose papers swirl around them in the wind. In the background, a floating head of a black wolf with glowing white eyes looms over the scene.
Cover of the book The Secret Benefits of Invisibility, by C.W. Allen. Two children wearing medieval cloaks over modern clothing stand in a snowy alleyway at night.