Maiya Williams

Williams was born in Corvallis, Oregon, the daughter of notable forester Carroll B. Williams, Jr. Williams grew up in New Haven, Connecticut and Berkeley, California.^[1] She attended Berkeley High School, and graduated from Harvard College in 1984 where she was editor and vice president of The Harvard Lampoon.^[2] She was the first African American woman elected to the magazine and the first African American to serve as an officer.^[3] In 2024, she received a Masters in African American Studies from University of California, Los Angeles and is pursuing a PhD in U.S. History.^[4][5]

Williams has written and produced various television series including Roc, Amen, The Fresh Prince of Bel Air, The Wayans Bros., MAD TV, Rugrats, Futurama and The Haunted Hathaways.^[6][2] She was a co-executive producer on The Last O.G.^[7]

In 2004, Williams wrote her first book for children, The Golden Hour, a time travel adventure set in the French Revolution. The Golden Hour received the Southern California Booksellers Association Award for Best First Novel and International Reading Association Intermediate Fiction Award.^[7] Its sequels include The Hour of the Cobra (2006), set in ancient Egypt, and The Hour of the Outlaw (2007), set in nineteenth century California. The Fizzy Whiz Kid: The Rise and Fall of a Hollywood Nobody, a contemporary cautionary tale about fame, was published in 2010.^[8] Her most recent book is Middle School Cool (2014). It was re-released in 2016 under the title Kaboom Academy.^[9]

Williams serves as a writing mentor at WriteGirl.^[5]