Yaa Gyasi is a Ghanaian-American novelist and author of the critically acclaimed novel Homegoing. Born in Ghana and raised in Huntsville, Alabama, Gyasi graduated from Stanford University in 2008 with a degree in English. She then went on to earn her MFA in Creative Writing from the University of Iowa in 2011. Her debut novel, Homegoing, was published in 2016 and was a New York Times bestseller. It was also named one of the 10 Best Books of 2016 by the New York Times Book Review. Gyasi's writing has been praised for its exploration of themes such as identity, family, and the African diaspora. She has been awarded numerous honors, including the National Book Critics Circle's John Leonard Prize and the PEN/Hemingway Award.