Jesse Xander is a queer non-binary writer and biological anthropologist who was born in 1991 in Kendal, Cumbria, and moved around the UK a lot in their early years before settling in Cambridgeshire. They discovered Tolkien whilst they were studying Archaeology and Anthropology at Homerton College, Cambridge, thus beginning their ongoing independent research into Middle Earth and its languages by applying anthropological tools to Tolkien's world, with particular focus on the oft-neglected orcs. They have directed multiple plays and short films, and have written everything from academic articles for Beyond The Binary to comedy plays, but this is their first book. Aside from Tolkien and other high fantasy, their pet passions include gothic, sci-fi and psychological horror, noir and superheroes. They live and work in Cambridge with their partner and their partner's sibling, and would very much like to be one of those authors who owns a cat or three.