Chezdon Mitchell is an Australian-American author of literary fiction,
currently residing in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. Born in Melbourne,
Chezdon briefly flirted with academia at the University of Melbourne
before realising lecture halls weren’t for him. Instead, he pursued a
more adventurous path—working in information security by day and
travelling across Europe by impulse.
Drawing heavily from his own experiences growing up gay in Australia,
Chezdon’s work is known for its raw honesty, complex characters, and
emotionally charged narratives. His debut novel, Innocence Waning (2019),
earned critical acclaim for its vivid portrayal of gay adolescence in
Melbourne, capturing the heartache, humour, and chaos of coming-of-age
in a world that doesn’t always make space for difference.
Chezdon’s fiction blends biting insight with dark humour, often tackling
controversial themes with a fearrless hand. His stories blur the lines
between truth and fiction, offering autobiographical glimpses wrapped in
richly imagined worlds. He writes to reflect real lives—-not sanitised,
not simplified, but as messy and magnificent as they are.
A proud member of the LGBT community, Chezdon champions authentic queer
representation and aspires to one day grace the stage at the Melbourne
Writers Festival—ideally with Innocence Waning in hand and a drink not
far away.
