Cynthia Pelayo is a Puerto Rican-born American author, poet, and journalist whose work spans horror, crime fiction, and poetry. In 2022 she received the Bram Stoker Award for Crime Scene, and sources identify her as the first Puerto Rican and first Latina recipient of a Bram Stoker Award. Coverage of her work has appeared in publications including The New York Times, the Chicago Tribune, and Library Journal. Pelayo has also contributed to Marvel Comics.
Pelayo earned a Bachelor of Arts in Journalism from Columbia College Chicago, a Master of Science in Marketing from Roosevelt University, and a Master of Fine Arts in Writing from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago (SAIC). While at SAIC, she developed work that later informed her short story collection LoterÃÂa.
Early in her career, Pelayo worked as a journalist for Chicago community outlets, including Time Out Chicago.
Her publications include the poetry collections Poems of My Night (2016), Into the Forest and All the Way Through (2020), and Crime Scene (2022); the short story collection LoterÃÂa (2023); and the novels Children of Chicago (2021), The ShoemakerâÂÂs Magician (2023), Forgotten Sisters (2024), and Vanishing Daughters (2025).
In 2025, Pelayo co-wrote the Marvel Comics one-shot White Tiger: Reborn, part of the Marvel Voices: Comunidades line, with a story illustrated by Moisés Hidalgo.
In 2025, Newcity included Pelayo on its Chicago Lit 50 list. She is co-publisher of Burial Day Books, a press focused on horror writing.
Children of Chicago (2021) was discussed by the Los Angeles Review of Books as blending crime fiction and dark fairy tales, and was included in The New York Times coverage of new horror novels in 2021. Newcity Lit reviewed the novel in 2021.
The ShoemakerâÂÂs Magician (2023) received a starred review from Library Journal and was included in The New York Times round-up of new horror titles in 2023.
Forgotten Sisters (2024) was covered by the Chicago Review of Books and reviewed by Library Journal.
Vanishing Daughters (2025) was reviewed by Paste Magazine, Library Journal, and the Chicago Tribune.
Crime Scene (2022) was reviewed by Monster Librarian.
PelayoâÂÂs work and projects have been covered by the Chicago Sun-Times, Chicago Tribune, The New York Times, and WTTW.
In 2010, following the lapse of the Poe Toaster tradition in Baltimore, Pelayo was photographed at Edgar Allan PoeâÂÂs gravesite, an image and event noted by The Guardian, ESPN, and other outlets.
Pelayo was born in Puerto Rico and moved to Chicago at age 2. She lives in Chicago with her husband, Gerardo Pelayo, and their two children.