Warm critical praise in three starred reviews has echoed some of Barney’s assessment. And if all that wasn’t enough to win my heart, Ayana also slipped in some very good “yo mama” jokes, which highlights just what great fun the read is.” “Pan-Africanism is so embedded in the narrative and the worldbuilding, and provides such an undeniable emotional core that reading the book very much reminded me of the time I was able to spend on the African continent and in that way, the read felt like going home. “I think Ayana truly won my heart when I recognized a character had been inspired by Kwame Nkrumah, the former president of Ghana and someone who was a vocal advocate for Pan-Africanism in his political life,” she said. And certain elements of Gray’s manuscript struck an even deeper chord for Barney. “From Koffi’s searing focus and strength to Ekon’s unexpected vulnerability, these immediately felt like people I knew or wanted to know,” she said. “The writing wasn’t just pace-y, but artful and I immediately fell into this world Ayana had created.” Barney also admired what she called the full-bodied characters in the story. “Reading Beasts of Prey on submission and every time thereafter felt like a delicious treat from the very first words,” she said. “I was tremendously fortunate that it was a relatively speedy process from there and, in the end, my books found a home with Penguin Young Readers and with my dynamic editor, Stacey Barney.”īarney quickly felt connected to the work and knew she wanted Beasts of Prey on her list. “I left Ghana and knew I wanted to write a story in which Black people had the opportunity to be both magical and nuanced.”īetween 20, Gray said, “I worked on the manuscript intermittently until I discovered a Twitter pitching event called #DVPit, where I was able to ‘pitch’ my book to literary agents and connect with my now-literary agent, Pete Knapp.” Knapp and Gray worked on revisions together for approximately a year, “and when we both felt it was ready, we submitted it to editors,” Gray noted. As a woman of Afro descent, it was deeply moving to return to the African continent and reckon with the erased pieces of my heritage,” she said. And since September 25, Gray has been on a hybrid national tour, where stops have included The Lit Bar (virtually in-conversation with author Sabaa Tahir) and an in-person appearance at the Cleveland Metroparks Zoo during Cleveland Book Week.Ī few months after completing that pivotal course, Gray embarked on a program studying abroad in Ghana, where she said she had “an incredibly powerful experience. Penguin Teen additionally supported the title with custom content in its dedicated newsletter mailings and social posts shared with its 1.3 million members.Ĭloser to the book’s release, Gray appeared on Good Morning America, which featured her TikTok unboxing video. Over the summer, the Penguin Teen online community invited four groups of influencers to join private virtual book clubs and meet-and-greets with Gray. “After Hours” virtual events at the ALA Midwinter and Texas Library Association conferences followed, along with three virtual meet-and-greets with booksellers from across the country during which Gray appeared in conversation with her editor, Stacey Barney, now associate publisher of Nancy Paulsen Books. Entertainment Weekly announced that Gray’s trilogy had been acquired in a preempt, and Oprah Daily ran a cover reveal and excerpt from the novel. To date, translation rights have been sold into 16 territories.īeasts of Prey’s road to becoming one of the buzziest books of the fall began more than a year ago when Penguin Young Readers kicked off a lead-up campaign. Last month, Netflix announced it will be developing the series as a feature film, produced by Bryan Unkeless’s Clubhouse Pictures and adapted by Melody Cooper. Out of the gate, the book landed at #4 on the New York Times young adult hardcover bestseller list and has remained on the list for a second week. The story of two Black teens, who form a dangerous alliance and venture into the magical Greater Jungle in pursuit of a terrifying, murderous creature called the Shetani, launched with a first printing of 250,000 copies on September 28. Perhaps fitting for a tale featuring a high-energy hunt, Ayana Gray’s Pan-African YA fantasy debut Beasts of Prey (Putnam), the inaugural title in a planned trilogy, has hit the ground running.
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