About the Writer
Kianna has always lived in the uncertainty of the in-between. Raised between Atlanta and Columbus, Georgia, the homes she switched during the week became the backdrop to the struggles she witnessed and experienced with mental illness. Writing became the means to express the inexpressible language she held within herself: the language of fear, longing, and loneliness.
Kianna began writing as a child, in diary entries, poems, and stories. Even before she knew of pen and paper, her mouth carried the lyrics of songs she would create for her mother. For as long as Kianna has loved the dance between words and their meanings, she has also loved learning. With “Teacher” as her favorite childhood game, Kianna has always dreamed of becoming an educator.
Kianna moved to Orlando, Florida in 2017 to pursue a BA in English (Creative Writing) at the University of Central Florida, from which she graduated summa cum laude in May 2021. As an undergrad, Kianna minored in Spanish, earned her Teaching English as a Second Language (TEFL) certificate, worked as a substitute teacher, and volunteered with the Adult Literacy League as an ESL tutor.
Becoming a Christian at age eighteen, Kianna began writing against the backdrop of hope she had found in her newfound faith. Her life’s work became to write something worthy of the grace she’d been given, using language as a vehicle to discuss grief, memory, chronic pain and illness, and the generational effects of trauma.
In May 2024, Kianna earned her MFA in Creative Writing from the University of Central Florida. She now teaches creative writing as a Lecturer in the Department of English. In the fall of 2025, Kianna took over as Director of UCF’s undergraduate literary journal, The Cypress Dome.