Gabriella Kay

Gabriella Kay was born in 1987 and grew up as an only child in Newport Beach, California. Her father was a painter, writer and fine art professor and her mother is an artist and happily retired small business owner. Gabriella studied philosophy at California State University Long Beach and graduated magna cum laude before going on to get her Master’s Degree in French Literature, focusing on existentialist and enlightenment thinkers, at the same university. She also has a degree in TESOL from UC San Diego Extension and has studied abroad in Scotland and Switzerland. 

In 2010, Gabriella moved to the Coachella Valley with her parents where she began teaching French and English as a Second Language at College of the Desert in Palm Desert, California. It was at this time that she became dedicated to volunteer activities. In 2014, Gabriella became  a founding member and served as President and CEO of the Coachella Valley Chess Club, a nonprofit with a commitment to educating children in underprivileged communities. She was also a member of the Board of Directors for both the Southern California Chess Federation and the United States Chess Federation as part of the Women’s and Ethics committees.

Gabriella moved to France in 2019 seeking a change and the adventure of a life abroad. She found a job teaching English in a small start up company then began writing her first novel, The Contractor, in 2023. Throughout her life, she worked alongside her father writing screenplays, poetry, and short stories until his passing in 2021. Gabriella is currently seeking representation for her debut novel and has many more that she plans to write, with her second novel already nearing completion.

Outside of writing, her hobbies include chess and sports. Gabriella was ranked nationally in the Top 100 Women chess players in the USA and as high as number 15 in California. She became a Certified Yoga Teacher in 2017 and is a 4.0 tennis player. She also loves hiking in the desert and golf (though she is admittedly very bad).

Though she still considers Southern California to be her home, she is currently living in Nantes, France with her husband and two rabbits Gwen and Nash.