ARRIEL
VINSON
AWARD-WINNING AUTHOR OF UNDER THE NEON LIGHTS
ABOUTPhoto by Reece T. Williams
Arriel Vinson is a Midwesterner who writes about being young, Black, and in search of freedom. Her debut YA novel-in-verse, Under the Neon Lights, is a 2026 Coretta Scott King/John Steptoe New Talent Award winner, a Reese’s Book Club LitUp selection, and a Junior Library Guild Gold Selection. Arriel earned her MFA in Fiction from Sarah Lawrence College and is a Tin House YA Scholar, Highlights Foundation scholarship recipient, and Walter Grant recipient. Her sophomore novel, If This World Were Mine, is forthcoming in spring 2027. You can connect with her on social media at @arriwrites and find her work at arriwrites.com.
"The writing is — I’m free from pain. It’s where nobody tells me what to do; it’s where my imagination is fecund, and I am really at my best. Nothing matters more in the world or in my body or anywhere when I’m writing."
Toni Morrison
SELECTED WORKSFICTION + POETRY
CREATIVE NONFICTION
On Black Decadence: How Boasting in the Midwest Taught Me About Class
After Divorce at Twenty-Four, Lizzo Taught Me to Love Myself Again
INTERVIEWS
UPCOMING EVENTS1/12: Empowering Your YA Protagonist, Solstice MFA
2/17-2/20: Getting to the Heart of the Story, Sarah Lawrence Writing Institute teen workshop
2/28/26: YANovCon, Belmont, CA
3/5-3/6: North Texas Teen Book Festival, Dallas, TX
4/25: Chocolate City Literature Festival, Washington, D.C.
Contact me.
To inquire about bringing me to your school, library, or organization, please reach out via my contact form.
For rights-related questions, please contact my literary agent, Jodi Reamer at Writers House here.
If you’d like to interview me for your podcast or publication, please contact my assistant via my contact form or assistant@arriwrites.com.