Cynthia Dearborn grew up in the US, Scotland, Germany and Italy, eventually settling in Seattle, where she worked as a barista before gaining a Master’s in TESOL. After migrating solo to Australia, she earned a PhD in applied linguistics, and taught at the University of Technology Sydney and then at The University of Sydney, where she currently holds an Honorary position. As Cynthia D Nelson, she is the author of numerous academic publications. Her play, Queer as a Second Language, has been performed to acclaim in Australia, Japan, the UK and the US. Her poem sequence ‘The Darmstadt Year’ was shortlisted for Australia’s prestigious Newcastle Poetry Prize.