Cyn Vargas is an accomplished author and faculty member in short fiction at StoryStudio Chicago. Her short story collection, "On The Way," has garnered rave reviews from notable publications such as Shelf Awareness, Library Journal, Heavy Feather Review, and Necessary Fiction. The book has received several accolades, including being named one of Book Scrolling's Best Short Story Collections of All Time and earning recognition from Chicago Book Review and the Chicago Writers Association.
Cyn's writing has been featured in esteemed literary magazines including Split Lip Magazine, Word Riot, Chicago Reader Fiction Issue, Allium Magazine, and Hypertext Magazine, among others. She has been honored as a Top 25 Finalist and received Honorable Mention in Glimmer Train's Short Story Award for New Writers contests. Additionally, Cyn's work was selected as a Symphony Space Selected Short and was produced live on stage and made available as a podcast.
Beyond her writing accomplishments, Cyn is an esteemed member of the literary community. She serves on the Curatorial Board for the Ragdale Foundation and holds a position on the Board of Directors for Hypertext Studio. In recognition of her teaching excellence, she was voted Stories Matter Foundation's 2022 Instructor of the Year.
Cyn holds an MFA in Creative Writing from Columbia College Chicago and takes great pride in her heritage as a first-generation American with El Salvadoran and Guatemalan roots. Her upcoming novella, scheduled for release in spring 2024, will be published by Tortoise Books.