Ayana Gray

1 universe Last reviewed 2026-09-05

Ayana Gray is an American author of young adult fantasy, born March 13, 1993, in Atlanta, Georgia, and raised from age thirteen in Little Rock, Arkansas. She graduated from Pulaski Academy in Little Rock and earned a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Arkansas in 2015, majoring in political science and African and African-American Studies. She began writing her debut novel shortly after graduating college in 2015. Her debut, Beasts of Prey (2021), published by Putnam Books for Young Readers, is set in a world inspired by pan-African cultures and follows two Black protagonists hunting an ancient monster through a magical forest; it debuted at number four on the New York Times bestseller list and was selected for a Netflix film adaptation. She continued the trilogy with Beasts of Ruin (2022) and Beasts of War (2024). In 2025 she published I, Medusa, an adult debut novel offering a villain-origin retelling of the Greek myth of Medusa. Gray's work has been recognized as a selection for the Arkansas Center for the Book and the Georgia Center for the Book, both in 2022, and was featured in the 2023 'If All Arkansas Read the Same Book' program. She is a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority.

Universe(s)

Books

• Beasts of Prey (2021) · Beasts of Prey Core Canon
• Beasts of Ruin (2022) · Beasts of Prey Core Canon
• Beasts of War (2024) · Beasts of Prey Core Canon

Aggregate across all universes

• Total Core Canon books across all universes: 3 books
• Award recognitions across all universes: 0 (None recorded)

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