Katie Barnes (they/them/their) is an award winning journalist covering the intersection of sports and gender. As a feature writer at ESPN, Katie has profiled women’s sports superstars like Maya Moore, A’ja Wilson, and Amanda Nunes. They are a leading journalist in the coverage of legislation and policy affecting transgender and intersex athletes, and has a forthcoming book from St. Martin’s Press on the topic.

Katie is a 3-time GLAAD award nominee and a 2022 finalist for the Dan Jenkins Medal, a prestigious award honoring outstanding sports journalism. They were named the 2017 Journalist of the Year by NLGJA — The Association of LGBTQ Journalists.

Katie studied American Studies, History, and Russian Studies at St. Olaf College, and Student Affairs in Higher Education at Miami University (OH), and thus believes that no degree is prophetic. A retired fanfiction writer, Katie now enjoys writing with their name attached, but wears their fandom as a badge of honor.

Katie actually likes cornfields, and thinks there is nothing better than a summer night’s drive through the Indiana countryside. When not transcribing a mountain of interviews, you can usually find Katie hanging out with their wife and cats, Atticus and Zora, attempting to write for fun, or playing video games.