Rena Barron
LanguageEnglish
NationalityAmerican
GenreYoung adult fiction, Middle Grade fiction
Years active2019–present
Notable worksKingdom of Souls
Website
renabarron.com

Rena Barron is an African American[1] author of middle grade and young adult fiction,[2] best known for her debut young adult fantasy novel Kingdom of Souls.

Early Life

Barron grew up in small-town Alabama, where her family owned a farm,[1] and says she's always had an obsession with science fiction and fantasy.[3]

Growing up, she heard a lot of stories about people practicing voodoo, which initially piqued her interest,[4] since it was often talked about in a negative light.[5] As a child, she was taught vodun, a West African spiritual practice, which served as the inspiration for her debut novel.[6] The books she read most were adult, which she says is due to her love of complicated stories on the dark side, which wasn't as prevalent in children's literature at the time. Her favorite books were The Last Vampire series by Christopher Pike, the Animorphs series, and many books by R.L. Stine.[7]

Personal Life

She considers herself part of the West African diaspora "removed from her ancestors' traditions".[3] Some of her favorite authors include Margaret Atwood, Leigh Bardugo, Holly Black, Octavia Butler, Suzanne Collins, N.K. Jemisin, and Toni Morrison.[8]

Barron lives in Chicago and works at an ad agency.[6]

Career

Barrin wrote her first poem in middle school and wrote her first stories and novels in high school.[9]

She has written two-book series: Kingdom of Souls and Maya the Rising Dark.[10][11]

Kingdom of Souls Series

Kingdom of Souls

Backstory

Barron didn't originally set out to write a trilogy, but found that the story demanded it. She completed the first draft of the story in 2013, but put the project on hold after receiving a number of rejections on it after first sending it out in 2014.[4] She revisited the story in 2017, rewriting it from the ground up.[9] The book was originally told in dual perspective of the main character and love interest.[4]

The manuscript, then called The Last Witchdoctor, was showcased during Pitch Wars, a now-defunct online pitch contest for a spring authors, where it became the most-requested manuscript in the history of the six-year contest, having garnered interest by 43 literary agents.[6]

Plot

Set in a West African-inspired fictional kingdom, it tells the story of Arrah, a girl failing at magic to the extent that her mother conjures a better daughter, whose magic soon threatens the kingdom.[6]

Reception

Kingdom of Souls (HarperTeen, 2019) was a Best Fiction for Young Adults selection by Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA).[12] It received a starred review from School Library Journal.[13] It was also published by HarperCollins UK in the United Kingdom in 2020.[14]

Film Adaptation

In 2019, Michael B. Jordan's Warner Brothers-based production company Outlier Society acquired the movie rights for the first book, with Jordan to produce alongside Alana Mayo and Pouya Shahbazian based on a screenplay by Misanthropist Sagay.[15]

Reaper of Souls

The second book in the series, Reaper of Souls, about a now-magic possessing Arrah who's become the last surviving witchdoctor and is hunted by the Demon King, was first published by HarperTeen in 2021. It was also published by HarperCollins UK in the United Kingdom in 2021.[16]

Maya and the Rising Dark Series

Maya and the Rising Dark

Background

Barron says she's had chronic illnesses all her life, some invisible, which inspired her to write about a main character in Maya that also has similar experiences, without making it the center of her story.[3] The neighborhood Maya lives in is modeled after one that Barron lived in herself for many years.[17]

Plot

The first book, Maya and the Rising Dark (HMH Books, 2020), based on West African mythology, tells the story of twelve-year-old Maya who starts seeing fantastical creatures around Chicago and relates that to stories her father told her that she previously dismissed as fiction.[18]

Reception

It received starred reviews from School Library Journal and Kirkus Reviews.[19][20]

Works

Kingdom of Souls series

Maya and the Rising Dark series

  • Maya and the Rising Dark. HMH Books, 2020.[19][27][28][20]
  • Maya and the Return of the Godlings. Clarion Books, 2021.[29][30][31]
  • Maya and the Lord of Shadows. Clarion/HarperCollins, 2022.[11]

References

  1. 1 2 Reader, Ms Woc (November 10, 2020). "WOC Read: Interview with Author Rena Barron". WOC Read. Retrieved January 8, 2024.
  2. ↑ Reyes Lopez, Silvana (October 29, 2019). "An Interview with Rena Barron, Author of Kingdom of Souls". Book Riot. Retrieved April 17, 2023.
  3. 1 2 3 Sammie (October 1, 2020). "Author Interview with Rena Barron || On Orisha, Strong Friendships, and Magic". The Bookwyrm's Den. Retrieved January 8, 2024.
  4. 1 2 3 "Debut '19 Interview: Rena Barron & Kingdom of Souls - The Book Bratz". Debut '19 Interview. Retrieved January 8, 2024.
  5. ↑ Lopez, Silvana Reyes (October 29, 2019). "An Interview with Rena Barron, Author of KINGDOM OF SOULS". BOOK RIOT. Retrieved January 8, 2024.
  6. 1 2 3 4 Kit, Borys (December 12, 2017). "New Leaf Literary Signs Breakout Author Rena Barron (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved January 8, 2024.
  7. ↑ Johnson, Andrea. "Interview: Rena Barron, author of Kingdom of Souls and Reaper of Souls". Retrieved January 8, 2024.
  8. ↑ "Interview: Rena Barron, Author of 'Kingdom of Souls'". The Nerd Daily. September 1, 2019. Retrieved January 8, 2024.
  9. 1 2 Comment, Amanda MacGregor Leave a (February 16, 2021). "Tips for Writing A YA Series, a guest post by Rena Barron". Teen Librarian Toolbox. Retrieved January 8, 2024.
  10. 1 2 Master of Souls. Kirkus Reviews. March 29, 2023. Retrieved April 17, 2023.
  11. 1 2 Maya and the Lord of Shadows. Kirkus Reviews. September 14, 2022. Retrieved April 17, 2023.
  12. ↑ Best Fiction for Young Adults: 2021. Booklist. March 15, 2021. Retrieved April 17, 2023.
  13. 1 2 Winslow, India (July 31, 2019). "Kingdom of Souls". School Library Journal. Retrieved April 17, 2023.
  14. ↑ "Kingdom of Souls Buch von Rena Barron versandkostenfrei bei Weltbild.de". Weltbild (in German). Retrieved January 12, 2024.
  15. ↑ Jr, Mike Fleming (September 18, 2019). "Michael B. Jordan's Outlier Society & Warner Bros Acquire Rena Barron Novel Trilogy 'Kingdom Of Souls'". Deadline. Retrieved January 8, 2024.
  16. ↑ "Reaper of Souls Buch von Rena Barron versandkostenfrei bei Weltbild.de". Weltbild (in German). Retrieved January 12, 2024.
  17. ↑ "Q&A: Rena Barron, Author of 'Maya and the Rising Dark'". The Nerd Daily. September 15, 2020. Retrieved January 8, 2024.
  18. ↑ read, Anuska G·Books··3 min (August 23, 2020). "Review: Maya and the Rising Dark by Rena Barron". The Nerd Daily. Retrieved January 8, 2024.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  19. 1 2 Maya and the Rising Dark. Kirkus Reviews. February 26, 2020. Retrieved April 17, 2023.
  20. 1 2 Mason Smith, Maggie (April 1, 2020). "Maya and the Rising Dark". School Library Journal. Retrieved April 17, 2023.
  21. ↑ Kingdom of Souls. Kirkus Reviews. June 15, 2019. Retrieved April 17, 2023.
  22. ↑ "Kingdom of Souls by Rena Barron". Publishers Weekly. July 11, 2019. Retrieved April 12, 2023.
  23. ↑ Kingdom of Souls by Rena Barron. Booklist. September 2019. Retrieved April 17, 2023.
  24. ↑ Toliver, S. R. (March 23, 2020). "Review of Kingdom of Souls". The Horn Book. Retrieved April 17, 2023.
  25. ↑ Reaper of Souls. Kirkus Reviews. January 12, 2021. Retrieved April 17, 2023.
  26. ↑ Williams, Ashleigh (March 12, 2021). "Reaper of Souls". School Library Journal. Retrieved April 17, 2023.
  27. ↑ Marshall, Melanie (September 2020). Maya and the Rising Dark by Rena Barron. Booklist. Retrieved April 17, 2023.
  28. ↑ Harris, Monique (February 11, 2021). "Review of Maya and the Rising Dark". The Horn Book. Retrieved April 17, 2023.
  29. ↑ Maya and the Return of the Godlings. Kirkus Reviews. July 13, 2021. Retrieved April 17, 2023.
  30. ↑ Maya and the Return of the Godlings by Rena Barron. Booklist. September 2021. Retrieved April 17, 2023.
  31. ↑ Mason Smith, Maggie (September 1, 2021). "Maya and the Return of the Godlings". School Library Journal. Retrieved April 17, 2023.


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