Kiernan Sjursen-Lien is an agender animation artist living in the Los Angeles are. They have created several short films, some of which, like The Ballad of Possum’s Broom and The Magnificent Menagerie of Melvin McMelanie, have been shown in festivals worldwide, including the Ottawa International Animation Festival, the Nevada City Film Festival, the CalArts Producer’s Show, and many more. Kiernan also does design, animation, and story work for animation studios around the world, including Disney TVA and Nickelodeon. 

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Kiernan was raised in a troubled household in the historic mining towns of Northern California, where they grew up fast, learned to be a quick judge of character, and to immerse themselves into the fascinating worlds of history and animation. A childhood Kiernan dreamed of running away, and writing stories that helped others survive in the same way the stories they had grown up with did. This fiery desire to help others feel like they aren't alone, even if it takes an occasional fart joke to do it, is the heartbeat of everything Kiernan produces. 

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Outside of the world of comics, animation, and writing, Kiernan enjoys spending time with their animals, hiking, reading, and volunteering to help teach art and writing to children. They also write their own books on the side, such as A Gay Ol' Time, a historical book on 19th century LGBTQIA+ Americans, and Winston and Harvey, a romp through San Francisco in the late 1920s and early depression era led by two stray animals looking for their lives calling. 

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In the future, Kiernan just hopes to continue to help produce projects that will make people happy. They live by the ideology that everything means the world to someone- and so every project deserves to have heart. Unless dragged to the grave, Kiernan will continue to pour their heart into whatever project comes across their desk.