Amaya  Sunn is a Harlem-based author, poet and artist of Eritrean & Ethiopian descent. At birth, she was given the name Rahwa meaning tranquility.  At age three, amid her country’s civil war she immigrated from Addis Ababa to New York City.

Creating her first poem at ten years old, she credits discovering her love for writing as life-changing. It gave her the outlet she needed to exercise her voice. As a teenager, she participated in various youth writing forums and open mics throughout New York City.  Performing at historic venues such as the Nuyoricans Poets Café intensified her passions. Shortly after she attended Wesleyan University where she received a Bachelor of Arts in Sociology. It was there that she further cultivated her craft, continuing to write and perform at showcases and campus-wide events. After college, she began a career in youth development where she focused on teaching arts-based curriculum to youth using the mediums of theater, movement, and creative writing. 

In 2018 Amaya Sunn released her first book, Things Unsaid a collection of poetry which debut #1 on Amazon’s New Releases in African Poetry.  Her recent work Rising, was released in 2020.  She has toured locally, reading her work at venues such as Langston Hughes House, Google NYC, and Columbia University.