Shannon Swearingen Gabriel grew up in a small town just outside of Nashville. She spent a semester studying and traveling in Europe before earning a BFA in creative writing from the University of Evansville, located in southern Indiana. After interning for a literary magazine based in Pittsburgh, she moved to Chicago to begin her professional career. Shannon now has nearly a decade of experience in the digital marketing industry and currently works as a copy editor team lead at a top agency.

In 2020, after several years of creative burnout, Shannon picked up a pen again and began to scribble poetry in the spare moments between parenting and her day job. Her poems have now been published in literary magazines such as samfiftyfour, Thimble Literary Magazine, and Stanchion, among others.

Shannon now lives in the Chicago suburbs with her husband, daughter, and two cats. She enjoys visiting the city and its many fantastic restaurants, reading and writing in coffee shops, and spending far too much money on vinyl records and books.