J.A. Mensah is a writer of prose and theatre and a lecturer in Creative Writing at the University of York, England. Castles from Cobwebs, her first novel, won the inaugural NorthBound Book Award and was nominated for the Desmond Elliott Award, previously won by Gail Honeyman and Kit DeWaal. Her plays have focused on human rights narratives and the testimonies of survivors. Her short stories appear in several collections.