River Selby was born in Los Angeles and grew up in the Pacific Northwest. Their debut memoir, Hotshot: A Life of Fire, was published in 2025 by Grove Atlantic. They worked as a wildland firefighter for seven years, stationed out of Oregon, California, Colorado, and Alaska. River is pursuing their PhD in Nonfiction with an emphasis in postcolonial histories, North American colonization, and post 20th Century literature and culture. They also hold an MFA in fiction from Syracuse University. River is currently working on their second book.
River will be at Word of South with author Diane Roberts.