Kayla Rae Whitaker

Kayla Rae Whitaker’s work has appeared in The Los Angeles Times, Buzzfeed, Literary Hub, Electric Literature, and others. Her debut novel, THE ANIMATORS, was named one of the best debut novels of 2017 by Entertainment Weekly and one of the best books of 2017 by NPR, Kirkus Reviews, and BookPage. Her second novel, RETURNS AND EXCHANGES, will be published by Random House in May 2026.