Kayla Whaley (she/her) is an author of fiction and nonfiction for children, teens, and adults. She is the author of the A to Z Animal Mysteries series (Random House Children’s Books), starting with The Absent Alpacas (July 2023). Her essays and short fiction have appeared at Catapult, Bustle, Michigan Quarterly Review, Uncanny Magazine, Book Riot, and in various anthologies, including Vampires Never Get Old: Tales with Fresh Bite (Imprint), Game On (Philomel), and Body Language (Catapult).

She holds an MFA in creative nonfiction from the University of Tampa and is a graduate of the Clarion Writers’ Workshop. Kayla spent four years as senior editor at Disability in Kidlit, an award-winning site dedicated to examining portrayals of disability in middle grade and young adult fiction. She also holds a Master’s in Public Administration, which is languishing in her closet somewhere, so the less said about that, the better.

She lives outside Atlanta, Georgia where she buys too many books and drinks too many lattes.

She’s represented by Beth Phelan at Gallt & Zacker.

You can follow Kayla on Twitter at @PunkinOnWheels.

(Landing page photo credit: Charlie Watts)