bio

Kyle Casey Chu (AKA Panda Dulce) is an author, filmmaker, and a founding queen of Drag Story Hour. SHE WRITES and produces films balancing grit, comedy and heart, alongside her bestie, Roísín Isner.

She is an alum of THREE SUNDANCE FELLOWSHIPS, Lambda Literary's Writer's Retreat for Emerging LGBTQ Voices, Film Fatales, SFFILM's FilmHouse residency and was named a 2025 Rainin Arts Fellow in Film. She also served alongside Drag Story Hour as Grand Marshall of SF Pride 2023. 

Kyle's narrative (dramatic) short, "After What Happened at the Library," has been programmed at twelve 2025 Academy Award Qualifying Festivals and won Best Narrative Short at Charlotte Film Festival and Film Pipeline, Best 2SLGBTQ+ Short at Vancouver Asian Film Festival, and a Special Jury Award at Florida Film Festival 2025. This short is a proof-of-concept for her debut feature film (in development).

her narrative (comedic) short, “Betty St. Clair” is now streaming on amc+.

Kyle's debut novel, "The Queen Bees of Tybee County" (HarperCollins) was named a 2026 American Library Association Asian Pacific American Award in Literature Honor book.

The companion novel, Juana Fanta Needs a Hero (HarperCollins) and Kyle's first picture book, What Kind of Queen (Abrams) hit shelves in 2026.