Celia S. Friedman is an American speculative fiction author who often writes as "C. S. Friedman". Originally a costume designer, Friedman began her publishing career in 1986. She quit costuming in 1996 to write full-time. As of 2022, she has published fourteen novels, numerous short stories—several of which were included in her 2021 collection The Dreaming Kind—and a sourcebook for White Wolf's Vampire: The Masquerade role-playing game.