E. M. Kokie writes for teens because she is drawn to stories that grapple with issues of identity and self-determination, and characters confronting the line between childhood and adulthood. Her most recent novel, Radical, explores such themes as family, identity, trust, guns, and what it really means to survive, through the eyes of a teen lesbian who is active in the survivalist movement. Her first novel, Personal Effects, was a YALSA Best Fiction for Young Adults and Amazing Audiobooks for Young Adults Top Ten, a Lambda Literary Award Finalist, and a 2013 IRA Young Adult Honor Book. She also contributed to the anthologies Things I'll Never Say: Stories About Our Secret Selves, and Violent Ends. A lawyer by training, Emily lives in Madison, Wisconsin with her wife and pet Wookie.