Ryka Aoki is an American author of novels, poetry, and essays. She teaches English at Santa Monica College and gender studies at Antioch University.Her work includes the poetry collections Seasonal Velocities and Why Dust Shall Never Settle Upon This Soul along with the novels He Mele a Hilo and Light From Uncommon Stars. Seasonal Velocities was a finalist for the award for transgender nonfiction in the 25th Lambda Literary Awards in 2013. Her poetry Why Dust Shall Never Settle Upon This Soul was a finalist for the 28th Lambda Literary Awards in 2016. Light From Uncommon Stars was nominated for a 2022 Hugo Award for Best Novel.
