Aziza Barnes

A performer, Barnes was a member of the Divine Fabrics Collective, alongside fellow writers Safia Elhillo, Camonghne Felix, and Sean "Mega" DesVignes. Barnes was the author of the chapbook me Aunt Jemima and the nailgun (2013), which became the first book to ever win a prize from Button Poetry. Their full-length collection, i be but i ain’t (2016), won a Pamet River Prize from YesYes Books. They were the co-founder of the Poetry Gods podcast and the co-founder of The Conversation Literary Festival. Barnes wrote the play BLKS, which was played at Steppenwolf Theatre Company in Chicago. Their debut novel, The Blind Pig, was published by Not A Cult on October 14, 2019. Barnes wrote the play Pues Nada (2020). Barnes also wrote for MEL.

Barnes wrote for the series Snowfall, Teenage Bounty Hunters, Rap Sh!t, and the Game of Thrones prequel A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms. At the time of their death, Barnes was working on an HBO adaptation of the novel The Vanishing Half.


Barnes died by suicide on December 15, 2024, at the age of 32.