Lily

Lily Sartor was born and raised in Longmont, Colorado to a family of engineers. As a child, she struggled with dyslexia, and wrote and illustrated little picture books for herself before she could read. She struggled especially with math, nd was the inspiration for a book published by her mother to assist children with memorization. Any early short-comings were made up for by her supportive family, who had the time, energy, and resources to invest in her health and education. At 12, she started writing for the school newspaper and placed in her regional science fair. In high school she studied abroad for a year in Switzerland, where she attended a Swiss high school and lived with a French-speaking family. After graduation, she enrolled at the University of Denver, through which she studied abroad again, this time in China, and attended an immersion program at Beijing University to learn Chinese. She earned her Bachelor of Science in 2023 with distinction in physics. She started out her career doing research in laser optics, but struggled to find work, eventually filling in the gaps between jobs by writing. In 2025, Lily married the love of her life, Nico Zucca, a roboticist, and they currently live together in Longmont, Colorado with their two birds: Benny and Kermie.