About M.J.

M.J. Beasi is a YA author, songwriter, former singer, voice teacher, and the founder/director of a teen opera workshop in western Massachusetts. Born and raised in Michigan, M.J. moved to Pittsburgh to study vocal performance at Carnegie-Mellon University, then on to New York to make a career in music and theater. On tour, M.J. was known for scouting out each new city as a potential future home, but it was love that finally lured M.J. to New England and a new career blaspheming Handel with a group of brilliant teens. As a librettist/adapter, M.J. has written Il sogno d’Arianna, an English-language narrative adapted from the madrigals of Claudio Monteverdi, an expanded adaptation of Henry Purcell’s Dido and Aeneas, and a queer adaptation of Handel’s Rinaldo. Their own songwriting and vocals are featured on their 2002 album, Dorrie’s True Story. M.J.’s debut novel, I WAS A TEENAGE DEATH GOD, will be released in early 2026 from Page Street Publishing.

When not writing or nerding out over Baroque opera, M.J. can be found reading, gaming, obliviously lost in their own inner world, streaming on Twitch at the crack of dawn, or binging cartoons with their spouse and cat. Some of the many keys to M.J.’s heart include rambling takes on musical theater, Vernors ginger ale, oatmeal scotchies, and queer disasters in any setting.

If you’d like to keep up with MJ’s book news as it happens, subscribe to their newsletter or follow MJ on Instagram. If you love games, prefer real-time connection, and/or hate sleep, follow MJ on Twitch!

Site Credits:
Photos by Paul D. Beasi
Book & kitty doodles by Andrea at CatAndTheMoonStore