Ayana Gray | |
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 Gray at the 2022 Texas Book Festival | |
| Born | March 13, 1993 Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. |
| Occupation | Novelist |
| Language | English |
| Education | University of Arkansas (BA) Pulaski Academy |
| Genre | Fantasy, Children's literature |
| Years active | 2021–present |
| Notable works | Beasts of Prey |
| Website | |
| ayanagray | |
Ayana Gray (born March 13, 1993) is an American author of young adult fiction. Her 2021 debut novel Beasts of Prey was a New York Times bestseller. [1] [2] [3]
Gray was born in Atlanta, Georgia, and moved to Little Rock, Arkansas with her family at age thirteen, attending and graduating from Pulaski Academy. [4] Gray received her Bachelor of Arts in political science and African and African-American Studies from the University of Arkansas in 2015. [5] [6]
Gray began writing her debut novel, Beasts of Prey, in May 2015, following her graduation. [7] In July 2020, Gray sold Beasts of Prey and two accompanying books to Putnam Books for Young Readers, an imprint of Penguin Random House. [8]
Beasts of Prey , the first installment in the eponymous trilogy, was published on September 28, 2021. [9] The story takes place in a Pan-African inspired world and follows two Black teens named Koffi and Ekon as they venture into a magical jungle to find and hunt down an ancient monster. [10] [11] [12] Beasts of Prey debuted at #4 on the New York Times bestseller list. [1] In 2021, it was announced that the book would be adapted into a feature film by Netflix, [13] with Clubhouse Pictures producing. [14] [15]
Gray currently lives in Little Rock, Arkansas. [16] [6] She is a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority [17]
In March 2023, the Beasts of Prey series was chosen as the featured series for the "If All Arkansas Read the Same Book" event. [18]
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