Dare DeLano’s debut novel Abilene, a coming-of-age story set in a small town in Texas, was released November 2023 from Mint Hill Books. Her work has been short-listed as a finalist for the Faulkner-Wisdom Creative Writing Competition, and her children’s book Odus and the Long Way Home won the San Diego Book Award and a Gold Moonbeam Book Award. Dare holds an MFA in creative writing from Fairfield University and is represented by Jennifer Thompson of Nordlyset Literary Agency.