Kyla ZhaoKyla Zhao

Kyla Zhao is an award-winning author whose novels center on women and girls of color navigating ambition and identity. Her books—including May the Best Player Win, Valley Verified, and The Fraud Squad—have received honors from the American Library Association, the National Council of Teachers of English, and the U.S. National Spelling Bee, and have been featured by outlets such as Good Morning America, Vogue, Elle, CBS, and BuzzFeed. A 2021 Stanford University graduate, Kyla has been named a Forbes 30 Under 30 honoree, a Tatler Leader of Tomorrow, and awarded a Certificate of Recognition by the California State Assembly. Learn more at kylazhao.substack.com.
What Improv Comedy Taught Me About Writing Novels
Image: on an informal stage with a red curtain erected in the background, members of an improv comedy troupe strike funny poses as their colleagues look on.
Improv is about being in the moment, and showed one author how to let go, listen better, take risks, and ...
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/ Fiction Craft, Free, Guest Post
Confronting Sophomore Syndrome as a Published Author
Image: an open spread from a hardcover copy of the book The Last Lecture by Randy Pausch and Jeffrey Zaslow, showing the beginning of Part III titled "Adventures…and Lessons Learned."
On the release of her sophomore novel, one year after her debut, a writer reflects on what she’s learned about ...
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/ Author Earnings & Careers, Free, Guest Post