Raven Leilani Last updated April 09, 2025 American writer
Raven Leilani (born August 26, 1990) [ 1] is an American writer who publishes under the name Raven Leilani . Her debut novel Luster was released in 2020 to critical acclaim. [ 2]
Early life and education Leilani grew up in a family of artists in the Bronx before they moved to a suburb of Albany, New York . [ 2] She grew up as a Seventh-day Adventist , and later left the church. [ 3] Having attended an art high school, Leilani expected to become a visual artist. [ 2] She graduated Marist College located in Poughkeepsie , New York in 2012, where she studied English and psychology. [ 2] [ 3]
Her first job was as an imaging specialist at Ancestry.com , having previously worked in the archives of Marist College as an undergraduate. Later, she worked at a scientific journal, for the United States Department of Defense , and as a delivery person for Postmates in Washington, D.C. [ 2] She also worked as an archivist at Macmillan . [ 4] In 2017, she began pursuing her MFA at New York University , where she studied under Zadie Smith and with writers Katie Kitamura , and Jonathan Safran Foer . [ 3] [ 2] She now lives in Brooklyn . [ 3]
Career Leilani's debut novel Luster received significant attention at its publishing. [ 5] The book's publisher, Farrar, Straus and Giroux named the book its novel of August 2020 as part of their "Dare to Imagine" campaign. [ 2] It is also part of Marie Claire 's book club and has been lauded by outlets including Elle , the HuffPost , BuzzFeed News , and The New York Times . [ 6] [ 7] It has been praised by authors Carmen Maria Machado , Brit Bennett , Angela Flournoy , and Zadie Smith. [ 2] [ 3] [ 8] Kirkus Reviews awarded Luster the 2020 Kirkus Prize for Fiction. [ 9] Luster was also awarded the 2020 Center for Fiction First Novel Prize , [ 3] [ 10] the 2020 John Leonard Prize at the National Book Critics Circle Awards , [ 11] the 2021 Dylan Thomas Prize , [ 12] and the 2021 VCU Cabell First Novelist Award [ 13]
Leilani's writing is influenced by her background as a visual artist, her life experiences, poetry, and a love of comic books and music. [ 2] She has written for publications including Esquire , [ 14] The Cut , [ 15] and Vogue . [ 16]
Works Short stories "Hard Water" (2016), Cosmonauts Avenue [ 17] "Breathing Exercise" (2019), Yale Review [ 18] "Airplane Mode" (2019). SmokeLong Quarterly [ 19] References ↑ Sanchez, Brandon (October 2, 2020). "The startling debut of Raven Leilani" . America Magazine . Archived from the original on October 31, 2020. Retrieved October 28, 2020 . 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 de León, Concepción (July 31, 2020). "Raven Leilani, a Flâneur Who Is Going Places" . New York Times . Archived from the original on August 6, 2020. Retrieved August 6, 2020 . 1 2 3 4 5 6 Obaro, Tomi (August 4, 2020). "If You Like "Normal People," You'll Love "Luster" " . BuzzFeed News . Archived from the original on August 5, 2020. Retrieved August 6, 2020 . ↑ Varno, David (July 10, 2020). "Writers to Watch Fall 2020" . Publishers Weekly . Archived from the original on January 24, 2021. Retrieved August 6, 2020 . ↑ "Book Marks reviews of Luster by Raven Leilani" . Book Marks . Retrieved August 12, 2024 . ↑ Epstein, Rachel (July 29, 2020). " 'Luster' Is Marie Claire's August Book Club Pick" . Marie Claire . Archived from the original on August 6, 2020. Retrieved August 6, 2020 . ↑ Fequiere, Roxanne (August 5, 2020). "Raven Leilani Is Your New Favorite Novelist" . Elle . Archived from the original on August 6, 2020. Retrieved August 6, 2020 . ↑ Smith, Zadie (August 4, 2020). "Zadie Smith on Her Former Student Raven Leilani's Debut Novel" . Harpers Bazaar . Archived from the original on August 6, 2020. Retrieved August 6, 2020 . ↑ "2020 Kirkus Prize" . Kirkus Reviews . Archived from the original on December 25, 2020. Retrieved January 23, 2021 . ↑ "Raven Leilani Wins the 2020 Center for Fiction First Novel Prize" . The Center for Fiction . Archived from the original on January 23, 2021. Retrieved March 2, 2021 . ↑ Beer, Tom (March 25, 2021). "National Book Critics Circle Presents Awards" . Kirkus Reviews . Archived from the original on July 13, 2023. Retrieved March 29, 2021 . ↑ "Dylan Thomas Prize: New Yorker Raven Leilani wins accolade" . BBC News . May 13, 2021. Archived from the original on May 13, 2021. Retrieved May 14, 2021 . ↑ "VCU Cabell First Novelist Award" . firstnovelist.vcu.edu . Archived from the original on December 15, 2023. Retrieved July 27, 2021 . ↑ Leilani, Raven (July 23, 2020). "When I Left My Faith, I Went to Comic Con" . Esquire . Archived from the original on July 31, 2020. Retrieved August 1, 2020 . ↑ Leilani, Raven (August 3, 2020). "Luster (excerpt)" . The Cut . Archived from the original on August 16, 2020. Retrieved August 27, 2020 . ↑ Leilani, Raven (August 4, 2020). "Turning My Back on the Faith that Saved Me" . Vogue . Archived from the original on September 8, 2020. Retrieved August 6, 2020 . ↑ Leilani, Raven (2019). "Hard Water" . Cosmonauts Avenue . Archived from the original on August 10, 2020. ↑ Leilani, Raven (January 20, 2020). "Breathing Exercise" . The Yale Review . 107 (4): 40– 50. doi :10.1111/yrev.13555 . S2CID 241706744 . Archived from the original on April 17, 2022. Retrieved August 6, 2020 . ↑ Leilani, Raven (January 28, 2019). "Airplane Mode" . SmokeLong Quarterly . Archived from the original on April 27, 2024. Retrieved April 27, 2024 . External links
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