Ayana Mathis is a fiction author. Currently, she is pursuing her Masters of Divinity at Union Theological Seminary. Mathis's essays and criticism have appeared in The New York Times, and The Atlantic. Her first book, "The Twelve Tribes of Hattie," was published in 2013, and was a New York Times Bestseller, an Oprah’s Book Club 2.0 selection, a 2013 New York Times Notable Book, and the NPR Best Book of 2013. Her second book, "The Unsettled," was published in 2023.