Leesa Dean is an award-winning multi-genre writer, editor and teacher living in rural British Columbia on unceded Sinixt Territory in the Slocan Valley. Waiting for the Cyclone, her acclaimed short story collection about misbehaving women (Brindle & Glass), was nominated for the 2017 Trillium and Relit Awards. Her novella in verse, The Filling Station, was published in 2022 by Gaspereau Press, and she is the author of two poetry chapbooks (above/ground press). Her third book, Interstitial, includes poems that were shortlisted for the Diagram Chapbook Contest, the Nick Blatchford Occasional Verse Contest, and she was runner-up for the Pacific Spirit Poetry Prize in 2022.

She is a dedicated mentor to emerging writers and can often be found in the community, encouraging people to rise up and share their stories with the world.