Kayla Rae Whitaker’s work has been published in The Los Angeles Times, Buzzfeed, Electric Literature, and others. Her first novel, The Animators, was named a best book of 2017 by Entertainment Weekly, NPR, Kirkus, and BookPage. Returns and Exchanges, her nationally bestselling second novel, was published by Random House in May 2026 and received starred reviews from Kirkus, Publishers Weekly, Library Journal, and Booklist. A Kentucky native, she writes and teaches in Queens, New York.

Read Kayla’s interview with The Guardian →

Read Kayla’s interview with Interview →

Read Kayla’s interview with Electric Literature →

Watch Kayla’s interview on KET’s Connections →

Watch Kayla accept an award from The Writers Center →

Read Kayla’s interview with Kill Your Darlings →

Read Kayla’s interview with The Dot and Line →

Your personal details will never be sold or used for anything other than to reply to this message.