ARRIEL

VINSON

YOUNG ADULT AUTHOR, POET, AND ESSAYIST


ABOUT

Photo by Reece T. Williams

Arriel Vinson is a Reese's Book Club LitUp Fellow and Midwesterner who writes about being young, Black, and in search of freedom. She earned her MFA in Fiction from Sarah Lawrence College. Her poetry, fiction, and essays have appeared in Kweli Journal, The Rumpus, Waxwing, and others. Arriel is a Tin House YA Scholar, Highlights Foundation scholarship recipient, and 2020 Walter Grant recipient. Under the Neon Lights, a YA novel-in-verse, is her debut (June 3, 2025). 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 WORKS

UPCOMING + RECENT EVENTS

  • 4/16/25: How to Write a Query Letter and Find an Agent (virtual, register here)

  • 1/15/25: Poetry As Storytelling: A Generative 5-Week Class (virtual), Sarah Lawrence Writing Institute

  • 10/13/24: Come Celebrate With Me: On Adding Joy to Your Work (virtual), Sarah Lawrence Writing Institute

  • 7/22/24: Poem Like You Mean It: A Generative 5-Week Poetry Class (virtual), Sarah Lawrence Writing Institute

Contact me.

To inquire about bringing me to your school, library, or organization, you can reach out via my contact form.

For book-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 PenguinTeen publicity team: Lathea Mondesir and Jaleesa Davis.