Arriel Vinson is an Indianapolis-born author 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 on January 26, 2027. You can connect with her on social media at @arriwrites and find her work at arriwrites.com.