Gabriela Mayes is a Brazilian essayist and poet. Her recent work appears or is forthcoming in AGNI, Best New Poets 2026, The Rumpus, Southern Humanities Review, The Acentos Review, and others.
She is writing a book for PhD students and early-career scholars on how universities work, under contract with the University of Chicago Press. At Rice University, Gabriela designs graduate programs that prepare PhDs to shape the future of academia and to make a difference beyond it (professional bio).
Gabriela grew up in São Paulo, where she was a contributing writer for Brazil's leading teen magazine, and is currently based in Houston, Texas. She holds a PhD in Communication Studies from Northwestern University.
