Ayana Gray’s debut fantasy novel, Beasts of Prey, captured the attention of young-adult readers around the world when it was published last year. It’s since been translated into 10 languages, and it’s even being adapted for a feature film with Netflix. The story follows two Black teenagers as they venture into a magical jungle to hunt down a vicious monster. It’s the first in a trilogy, and her second book, Beasts of Ruin, is out this week. Before becoming a professional writer, Gray worked in higher education, fundraising for the University of Florida and the University of Arkansas. On this episode, Gray shares how her first life as a researcher helped her build the magical world of her series and how she learned to let go and trust her collaborators when the time came to put her pencil down. Plus, she tells the unbelievable story of how she found a whopping 43 agents for her very first book. 

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