Erika Ayón emigrated from Mexico when she was five years old and grew up in South Central Los Angeles. She graduated from UCLA with a B.A. in English. She was selected as a 2009 PEN Emerging Voices Fellow. She has taught poetry to middle and high school students across Los Angeles. Her work has appeared in The Acentos Review, Dryland, Chiricú Journal, Wide Awake Anthology, Coiled Serpent Anthology, and elsewhere.

Ayón’s book titled Orange Lady received Honorable Mention for Poetry at the 2019 International Latino Book Awards.