Christopher M. Tantillo earned his MFA in Writing Popular Fiction from Seton Hill University in 2017 and his BA in Creative Writing from SUNY Oswego in 2012. He considers himself a hopeless romantic and a lover of all things YA. When not reading or writing, he enjoys running, movie marathons, and binge watching the next greatest show. He's an avid fan of anything horror related, despite not actively writing in the genre.

He enjoys witty banter, awkward conversations, tarot, tea, and has an unhealthy obsession with gelato. You can find him, and his doggo Benji (Benito), in Niagara Falls, New York, where he grew up. He hopes to spread mental health awareness and advocacy with his writing, and hopes that his stories can help to both entertain and heal. His goal is to inspire someone else's life with his characters and stories, like his favorites did for him growing up. He considers his primary genre to be dark, contemporary, upper-YA coming-of-age books. He will continue to write stories told from the POVs of teens dealing with mental health issues, which come in all shapes and sizes. And, of course, a bit of romance thrown in.

He has also published essays in The Weaving Knight, The Great Lakes Review, and Twenty-two Twenty-eight. His debut YA novel, The Night I Spent with Aubrey Fisher, won 2nd place in the Sara-Merritt Contest in 2017. He is also the author of Keep You.