Alexandra Pierson (born August 4, 1995), widely known by her pen name Alex Aster, is a Colombian-American young adult author. She is best known for the young adult fantasy series, Lightlark, and the middle-grade fantasy series, Emblem Island.
Life and career
Pierson was born on August 4, 1995, to Keith and Claudy Pierson. Her parents are the co-owners of Keith Pierson Toyota in Jacksonville, Florida. Alex and her twin sister, Daniella, were prominently featured in advertisements and billboards for their parents’ dealership growing up. Her twin sister is the founder of the newsletter company Newsette, which Forbes estimates has made her one of the wealthiest women of color in America. Alex started writing books when she was thirteen, querying numerous publishers before landing a publishing deal shortly before her graduation from college. She graduated from the University of Pennsylvania in 2017 with a degree in English.
Her first book, Curse of the Night Witch, was published in 2020, the first of two books in her Emblem Island series of middle-grade fantasy novels. Inspired by her Colombian heritage and the stories her grandmother would tell her, the series was well-received but did not receive the level of commercial success she and her agent hoped for. In the months before the release of her next book, Lightlark, she posted a Tik Tok promoting the story’s concept, which soon went viral and lead to a publishing deal for the novel. The book received a first print run of 200,000 copies and sold over 24,000 copies in its first week, making it a New York Times bestseller. The novel’s success further led to a movie deal.
Works
Emblem Island series
Curse of the Night Witch (June 9, 2020) Curse of the Forgotten City (June 8, 2021)
The Lightlark Saga
Lightlark (August 23, 2022) Nightbane (November 7, 2023)