He graduated from the University of Maryland with B.A. in English and then moved to New York City. A New York Times article describes his early attempts to get published, "he tried to slip it to security guards at publishing houses, hoping it would wind up in an editor’s hands. The method didn’t work. Reynolds settled into a career in retail, and tried three times to get into M.F.A. programs but was rejected. One day, his friend Christopher Myers visited him at the Rag & Bone store he was managing and encouraged him to start writing again" (de Leon, 2019). Fortunately, he stuck with it and published When I Was the Greatest in 2014, followed by several titles in quick succession, including The Boy in the Black Suit and All American Boys, which he co-authored with Brandon Kiely.

Reynolds frequently collaborates with authors, including Ibram X. Kendi on Stamped: Racism, Antiracism, and You, which is a remix of Stamped from the Beginning. Reynolds writes primarily for young people, and while he, "said he might write for adults one day, but he’ll never stop writing for young people. “I just think it's a wonderful experience to sit down at the page with such intention" (de Leon, 2019). His intention and work are to communicate to them that, "the minute you read one of my books, you and I are friends. We know each other. That means you know there's someone in the world thinking of you" (Reynolds, 2020).

Reynolds currently lives in Washington, D.C., but spends quite a bit of time traveling around the country in his role as National Ambassador for Young People's Literature with this Grab the Mic: Tell Your Story platform.

Book List