Nathen Grayye has spent much of his life building, observing, and questioning the world around him. Raised in a family that ran a five-and-dime store, he developed an early understanding of people, their habits, and the choices they make. He flipped his first house while in college and went on to build a career in residential construction, including a pioneering project in one of Washington, D.C.’s most challenging neighborhoods.

Writing was never part of his original plan. That changed during the COVID-19 pandemic, when life under strict lockdown brought him face to face with divisions he had not previously seen so clearly. Conflicts over masks, vaccination, social distancing, and public restrictions prompted him to look more closely at how quickly people judge, exclude, and turn against one another.

The result was Planet Bigotry, a collection of 40 fictional vignettes examining prejudice in its many forms. From family dynamics and cultural traditions to politics, appearances, power, and the judgments people direct at themselves, Grayye challenges readers to question the assumptions hiding in everyday life.

A self-described conceptual artist, Grayye is interested in ideas that move people, inspire them, or make them see something differently. Outside writing, his interests include cooking, spinning records, art, architecture, and interior design. He follows a writing routine inspired by author Walter Mosley, setting aside his mornings for coffee and focused work before heading into his professional life.

Grayye is also developing Ten Blocks Away, a memoir about his early experiences in Washington, D.C., and Construction Confidential, an inside look at residential construction.

With Planet Bigotry, his aim is not simply to provoke debate, but to encourage greater awareness of how people interact with the world and one another. He leaves readers with a challenge that begins at home: look at your own assumptions before deciding what needs to change in someone else.