Michael R. Underwood

Michael R. Underwood (they/he) is an author, game designer, and actual play producer. Their books include space opera Annihilation Aria, the Ree Reyes Geekomancy books, the Stabby Award-finalist Genrenauts series, and Born to the Blade (written with Malka Older, Cassandra Khaw, and Marie Brennan).

Mike is a designer on the forthcoming Daggerheart from Critical Role's Darrington Press. Their first published game is The Only Logical Solution is Hijinx, a comedic one-page rpg about very serious people in very silly situations. Mike was a Design Consultant on Candela Obscura and provided additional writing for the game. They're currently developing Let's Go Steal an Ending, a Forged in the Dark ttrpg based on their Genrenauts series.

They've been a bookseller, sales representative, and were the North American Sales & Marketing Manager for Angry Robot Books (2012-2018). They were a co-host of the actual play show Speculate! From 2015-2023) and a guest host on the Hugo Award-finalist The Skiffy and Fanty Show. They're one of the organizers of the Tabletop Arts Fund and co-founded the Bag of Giving charity actual play series.

Mike lives in Baltimore with his wife, their dog, and an ever-growing library. He also loves geeking out with games and making pizzas from scratch.