And on Tumblr, woven within step-by-step instructions for recipes of her favorite dishes, she ruminates on self-worth. She founded and co-edits PANK, a literary journal. To her 18,000 followers on Twitter, she tweets about episodes of The Barefoot Contessa, poker games with men, or her latest bout with insomnia. Flavorwire recently named Gay one of the Internet’s most influential writers. Roxane Gay’s writings capture the zeitgeist.Īn Untamed State, her chilling debut novel of a woman kidnapped and held 13 days for ransom, garnered praise from coast to coast after its release last May.