Maria Pinto (she/her) is a Boston-area writer and educator. She teaches creative writing through various community organizations and fosters outdoor literacy as a board member at Hale Education. Her work has appeared in Orion Magazine, Necessary Fiction, and Frigg, among other publications. She has been supported with time at the Vermont Studio Center, The Writers’ Room of Boston, The Mastheads, Oak Spring Garden Foundation, MASS MoCA, and Garret on the Green. She has given talks about fungi for the New York Mycological Society, the Central Texas Mycological Society, and the Wisconsin Mycological Society, and led forays at Telluride Mushroom Festival and The Arnold Arboretum. Her book of nonfiction inspired by mushrooms is under contract with University of North Carolina Press.