Nina-Marie Gardner is an American novelist and playwright whose debut novel, "Sherry & Narcotics," was published in 2011 by Future Fiction London. The stage adaptation of the novel was a finalist for the Verity Bargate Award in 2014 and later staged at London’s Arcola Theatre as part of its PlayWROUGHT Festival. Her short stories, essays, and reviews have appeared in publications such as 3AM Magazine, The Fix, The Frisky, and Flavorpill, as well as the anthologies "Bedford Square" and "3AM London, New York, Paris."
Gardner holds a PhD in Drama and Theatre from Royal Holloway, University of London, where she served as a Visiting Lecturer in the Department of Drama, Theatre & Dance from 2014 to 2018. A recipient of the Royal Holloway International Excellence Award and a Crossland Research Fellowship, she has contributed to the literary community as a judge for prestigious awards, including the Verity Bargate Playwriting Award and the First Pages Prize. Born in New York City and educated at Yale University, Gardner has lived abroad extensively, drawing from her experiences to inform her writing. Her work often explores themes of displacement and identity, blending literary fiction with sharp psychological insight.