Originally from the Central Valley of California, Leo Ríos studied English at UCLA and received an MFA from Cornell University. His first published story was selected by ZZ Packer as winner of The Arkansas International's Emerging Writer's Prize. His second published story appeared in The Georgia Review and was noted as a distinguished story in The Best American Short Stories 2022. Other publications include stories in The Rumpus, The Masters Review, Joyland Magazine, and The Common. A recent recipient of a MacDowell Fellowship and The de Groot Foundation's Courage to Write grant, he currently lives in Tucson, Arizona, where he teaches writing at the University of Arizona.