Photo Credit: Mary Ella Jourdak
About Kayla
Kayla Lightner is a writer and literary agent at Ayesha Pande Literary.
Her writing has appeared or is forthcoming in Split Lip, Indiana Review, Pithead Chapel, phoebe, and elsewhere. Her work has won the Katherine Anne Porter Fiction Prize and the Ann E. Imbrie Prize; has been nominated for the Pushcart Prize, Wigleaf's Top 50, and Best Small Fictions; and was a finalist for Best of the Net. Her work has also been supported by the Virginia Center for the Creative Arts.
​
As a literary agent, Kayla typically represents adult titles (though there are a select few middle-grade titles on her list). She enjoys upmarket fiction, literary fiction, and nonfiction that can masterfully straddle the line between story-telling and teaching readers something new.
​
Kayla is currently pursuing her MFA in fiction at the University of Maryland. She earned a BA in English from Vassar College. A Georgia native, she now resides in the D.C. area. with her husband and dog.