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United States Roxane Gay is an American writer, professor, and social commentator known for her impactful works analyzing feminist and racial issues.
Roxane Gay was featured in 'The Drop Series' by Dropbox, where she shared her aspirations to create meaningful work.
Roxane Gay invested in Ethels Club, citing her belief in founder Naj's vision and the future of the club.
In 2022, Gay partnered with the stationery company Baron Fig to design a notebook intended to assist consumers with their writing processes.
Roxane Gay launched her publishing imprint, Roxane Gay Books, through Grove Atlantic in 2021.
Emily Oberman and the Pentagram team designed the branding system, featuring a powerful logotype, for Roxane Gay Books.
In 2019, TKO Studios launched 'The Banks,' a heist thriller by Gay. In 2020, TKO Studios partnered with Macro to produce a film adaptation, with Gay writing the screenplay and serving as executive producer.
Medium approached Gay in 2017 to start a 'pop-up' magazine for the online publishing platform, which led to 'Gay Magazine' and 'Unruly Bodies'.
Roxane Gay was born on October 15, 1974, in Omaha, Nebraska, to Michael and Nicole Gay, who are of Haitian descent. She attended Phillips Exeter Academy before starting her undergraduate studies at Yale University. She later completed her Bachelor of Arts degree at Norwich University and earned a Master of Arts degree in creative writing from the University of Nebraska–Lincoln. In 2010, Gay obtained a Doctor of Philosophy in Rhetoric and Technical Communication from Michigan Technological University. Her academic career began as an assistant professor of English at Eastern Illinois University in 2010. She continued her academic pursuits at Purdue University as an associate professor of English from 2014 to 2018, where she was tenured. In 2019, she served as a visiting professor at Yale University, and since 2022, she has held the distinguished position of Gloria Steinem Endowed Chair in Media, Culture and Feminist Studies at Rutgers University.
Gay’s literary career launched with her short story collection, “Ayiti,” in 2011. In 2014, she published two significant works: the novel “An Untamed State” and the essay collection “Bad Feminist.” “Bad Feminist” became a New York Times bestseller, earning critical acclaim for its insightful commentary on cultural and political issues through a feminist lens. Her 2017 short story collection, “Difficult Women,” further showcased her ability to explore complex female experiences. That same year, she released “Hunger: A Memoir of (My) Body,” a memoir detailing her experiences with body image, weight, and the impact of childhood trauma. In addition to her extensive writing, Gay has contributed to Marvel Comics as a lead writer for “World of Wakanda” in 2016, making her one of the first Black women to hold such a role at Marvel. She has also served as an editor for publications like The Rumpus, The Butter, and Gay Mag.
Her work consistently addresses themes of identity, privilege, and social justice, often drawing from her personal experiences. Gay is a contributing opinion writer for The New York Times and has launched several projects, including her publishing imprint, Roxane Gay Books, under Grove Atlantic in 2021, and her newsletter, The Audacity. In 2022, she partnered with stationery company Baron Fig for a writing journal. In 2025, she and Debbie Millman became the new owners of The Rumpus. Her contributions to literature and social commentary have been recognized with awards such as the PEN Center USA Freedom to Write Award in 2015 and a Guggenheim Fellowship in 2018.
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