[2] Leilani grew up in a family of artists in the Bronx before they moved to a suburb of Albany, New York.
[4] In 2017, she began pursuing her MFA at New York University, where she studied under Zadie Smith and with writers Katie Kitamura, and Jonathan Safran Foer.
[2] It is also part of Marie Claire's book club and has been lauded by outlets including Elle, the HuffPost, BuzzFeed News, and The New York Times.
[6][7] It has been praised by authors Carmen Maria Machado, Brit Bennett, Angela Flournoy, and Zadie Smith.
[16] She is a supporter of the boycott of Israeli cultural institutions, including publishers and literary festivals.