Ayn Gailey

Ayn Carrillo-Gailey is a writer whose past work has been mostly autobiographical, including a three-year column for bicultural magazine Tu Ciudad; a memoir published by Running Press (U.S.) and Random House (UK) that has been translated into several languages; and cultural essays for Elle UK, Latina, Ōde, and Kinfolk. Her most recent work sheds light on what it is like to straddle two disparate cultures while also struggling to belong as an American and how that shapes a person. Carrillo-Gailey is half-Mexican (with Karankawa descent) and half-Taiwanese. To her, art—including music, visual arts, culinary arts—is one way of ensuring that a culture’s or individual’s story doesn’t die with them. In her current work, a novel series, she explores how women of color, especially those with biracial and bicultural experiences, use different forms of art to express grief and grapple with relationships, family and social challenges. In addition to winning an Artists Trust Gap Award, her work has earned a Push Cart nomination, a Nautilus Award, a 2022 residency at Mineral School and a 2023 residency at Hedgebrook.