Alexandra Pierson, known professionally by her pen name Alex Aster, is a Colombian-American young adult author. She is best known for the young adult fantasy series Lightlark, and the middle-grade fantasy series Emblem Island.
Aster wrote six books before her first book deal. She published her first book, Curse of the Night Witch, in 2020, followed by its sequel in 2021. That series was inspired by her Colombian heritage and the stories her grandmother would tell her; however, the series did not receive the level of commercial success she had hoped for.
In the months before the release of her next book, Lightlark, she posted a TikTok promoting the story's concept, which soon went viral and lead to a publishing deal for the novel. The book received a first print run of 200,000 copies and sold over 24,000 copies in its first week, making it a New York Times bestseller. The novel's success further led to a movie deal with Universal Pictures and Temple Hill, with Aster executive producing.
