Ray Nayler is an American and Canadian writer whose works engage with ecology, systems theory, and questions of consciousness and intelligence, including animal and artificial intelligence.
Career Nayler's debut novel, The Mountain in the Sea, focuses on the discovery of a society of intelligent octopuses off the coast of Vietnam, and was the winner of the 2023 Locus Award for Best First Novel as well as being a finalist for the Nebula Award and the Los Angeles Times Ray Bradbury Award. It was declared one of the best Science Fiction novels of all time by Esquire.
Nayler's second book, the novella The Tusks of Extinction, centers on the de-extinction of the woolly mammoth and was published in 2024. It won the Hugo Award for Best Novella and was a finalist for the Nebula Award and the Locus Award
His third book, a "near-future thriller" titled Where the Axe Is Buried, was released on April 1, 2025 and tells the story of a rebellion against the status quo in a near future dominated by AI and authoritarian regimes. His fourth book, Palaces of the Crow, is a speculative novel of the recent past, in which four young teens caught between the Nazis and the Red Army survive winter in the woods with the help of a flock of highly intelligent crows. It was published May 19, 2026.https://us.macmillan.com/books/9780374620752/palacesofthecrow/
Nayler previously served in the Peace Corps and as a US Foreign Service officer, working in Russia, Central Asia, the Caucasus, and the Balkans. He was Press Attaché at the United States Embassy in Baku, Azerbaijan, and Environment, Science, Technology, and Health Officer at the U.S. consulate in Ho Chi Minh City. He was international advisor for the Marine Protected Areas Center at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), and was a visiting scholar and diplomat in residence at George Washington University's Institute of International Science and Technology Policy and Space Policy Institute.https://divemagazine.com/scuba-diving-news/review-the-mountain-in-the-sea-by-ray-naylerhttps://www.mbari.org/event/ray_nayler/
Bibliography
Novels
The Mountain in the Sea (2022) The Tusks of Extinction (2024) - winner of 2025 Hugo Award for Best Novella Where the Axe Is Buried (2025) Palaces of the Crow (2026)
Short stories
YearTitleShort stories unless otherwise noted.First publishedReprinted/collectedNotes2015"Mutability"2016"Do Not Forget Me"2019"Fire in the Bone"Nayler, Ray (January 2019). "Fire in the Bone". Clarkesworld. Issue 148Direct link"Beyond the High Altar"Nayler, Ray (September 2019). "Beyond the High Altar". Nightmare. Issue 84Direct link"The Death of Fire Station 10"Nayler, Ray (October 2019). "The Death of Fire Station 10". Lightspeed. Issue 113Direct link2020"Albedo Season"Nayler, Ray (May 2020). "Albedo Season". Clarkesworld. Issue 164Direct link"The Swallows of the Storm"Nayler, Ray (July 2020). "The Swallows of the Storm". Lightspeed. Issue 122Direct link"Outside of Omaha"Nayler, Ray (September 2020). "Outside of Omaha". Nightmare. Issue 96Direct link2021"Sarcophagus"Nayler, Ray (April 2021). "Sarcophagus". Clarkesworld. Issue 175Direct link"Yesterday's Wolf"Nayler, Ray (September 2021). "Yesterday's Wolf". Clarkesworld. Issue 180Direct link2022"The Summer Castle"Nayler, Ray (February 2022). "The Summer Castle". Nightmare. Issue 113Direct link"Rain of Days"Nayler, Ray (March 2022). "Rain of Days". Clarkesworld. Issue 186Direct link2023"The Job at the End of the World"Nayler, Ray (August 30, 2023). "The Job at the End of the World: A Tor.com Original" Tor.comGoogle Play Books
Bibliography notes
References