Joanmarie Bañez was born in Atlanta but grew up in Hiram, Georgia. In 2025, she completed her Ph.D. in literature with a certificate in critical gender studies from the University of California San Diego. Broadly, she studies 20th- and 21st-century multiethnic U.S. literature and Asian American literature with a focus on transracial adoption narratives, queer kinship, national belonging, aesthetics, and affect theory. Currently, Joanmarie is an assistant professor of English at Oglethorpe University, where she teaches courses on writing, global literature, comparative ethnic literature, and labor and love. After a paradisiacal six years in San Diego, she is delighted to be back in Atlanta with her friends and family, despite the oppressive heat and humidity of Georgia summers. Miscellaneous interests and affinities include: pop culture video essays, walking over driving when possible, and Jane Austen-coded female friendships. She fancies herself the unofficial president of the Billy-Ray Belcourt fan club. Her work can be found in The Georgia Review, Southern Cultures, and MELUS: Multi-Ethnic Literature of the United States.