Colin Heasley was born and raised in rural upstate New York. His debut short stories are forthcoming in Columbia Journal and McSweeney’s Quarterly Concern, where he is a runner-up for the 2025 Stephen Dixon Award in Short Fiction.

His narrative work blends influences from film, drama (MFA, New York University) and a background in STEM policy (BS, Duke University) with a psychologically-probing, emotionally-vivid sensibility. He is an alum of Bread Loaf and Tin House, where he workshopped portions of his completed story collection. He is currently working on a second novel manuscript.

Colin began writing for the internet as an Editorial Fellow at BuzzFeed, during the vicious heyday of the millennial content farm. His first pieces were published by the editor who would later write the uber-viral “The Dress” post, and by the age of 23 his lists, quizzes, and terrible photoshops had been viewed by millions.

Shortly after, he became a contributor to a small humor website with ~1,000 followers for an unheard-of audience in comedy—women!—called Reductress. His satire has since appeared in Electric Literature, The Offing, McSweeney’s Internet Tendency, and The New Yorker, among many others.

Throughout his twenties, he supported his writing with a variety of odd jobs and internships: at the US Department of State, queer cinema epicenter Killer Films, kitchen electrics company Dash, and a J. Crew store in a mall. He is currently a Senior Copywriter at advertising agency Razorfish.

Colin lives in Los Angeles with his partner, the jazz singer and composer Michael Mayo.