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Aija Mayrock
Bestselling Author, Poet & Advocate
Aija Mayrock
Bestselling Author, Poet & Advocate
Biography
Aija Mayrock is a bestselling author, poet and advocate. Forbes magazine wrote about Aija Mayrock, “With hundreds of thousands of social media followers, Aija Mayrock uses writing and performing to connect, educate and advocate. The author of the international bestseller The Survival Guide to Bullying, she performs poetry and spoken word around the world empowering young people to cultivate resilience. And her powerful voice resonated — so much so that she’s developed a school curriculum implemented by school communities across the country.”
At eight years old, Aija began getting bullied for her lisp, stutter and learning disabilities. As the years progressed, the bullying escalated and Aija dealt with verbal, physical and cyberbullying. When Aija was 15, a girl she had never met dressed up as her for Halloween, posted it online and it went viral. On that day, Aija decided to speak out and take a stand. Aija wrote The Survival Guide to Bullying at 16 years old and after years of rejection from publishers, she self-published it. It was soon acquired and republished by Scholastic, becoming the only self-published book they had acquired. The book went on to become an international bestseller published in 18 countries around the world. While being a full-time student at New York University, Aija spoke to over four million people across the country and implemented a curriculum in schools nationwide.
Aija’s poetry, which tackles subjects from mental health to gender inequality, has gained national recognition and tens of millions of views online. Aija has performed at stadiums like Madison Square Garden and esteemed venues like The Harvard Club, The Town Hall and the United Nations.
Aija was a Today Show Hero of the Year alongside Jameela Jamil, Awkwafina, Helen Mirren, Drew Barrymore and Gabrielle Union.
Aija’s debut book of poetry Dear Girl sold at auction and was published in 2020.
Speaker Videos
Who Do You Want To Be
Dear Girl
Words to Mend
Social Media and Cyberbullying
Speech Topics
A Pen & A Piece of Paper
At age 16, Aija Mayrock had just endured eight years of relentless bullying. She had a lisp, stutter and learning disabilities. When Aija was a freshman in high school, a girl she had never met dressed up as her for Halloween, posted it online and it went viral.
So Aija did the only thing she knew how to do. She picked up her pen and started writing. Aija wrote her first book The Survival Guide to Bullying at 16 years old, self-published it, and then receiving her first book deal with Scholastic — being the only self-published author Scholastic had ever acquired. The book became an international bestseller. Aija started school at New York University and spoke to over 4 million students across the country, developing a curriculum that was implemented within every community. Aija’s advocacy awarded her The Today Show Hero of 2018.
In this heartwarming, inspiring talk, Aija shares how a pen and a piece of paper can change the course of your life and the world.
Full Time Student & Full Time Businesswoman
After receiving a book deal with Scholastic at 19 years old and five months later becoming an international bestselling author, Aija Mayrock decided to stay in school at New York University (while doing a double major and minor) and do both — run her business and get her degree. Over the next four years, Aija spoke to four million people across the country, implemented a curriculum in schools, developed a global social media platform with hundreds of thousands of followers and worked with brands like Warner Brothers, Coca-Cola, Nivea, Saks Fifth Avenue, amongst many others.
In this motivating presentation, Aija shares her story and all the tips that allowed her to do both school and build a global movement and career. Upon graduating in May 2019, Aija sold her second book, Dear Girl.
Bullying, Mental Health, & Changing the Culture of Cruelty
When Aija Mayrock was eight years old, she began getting relentlessly bullied by her classmates and teachers. She had a lisp, stutter and learning disabilities. But the bullying only began there and grew in severity with social media. When Aija was 15, a girl she had never met, dressed up as her for Halloween and it went viral. Within hours, Aija faced thousands of death threats from people she had never met. Finally, after years of not telling anyone about her situation, Aija opened up to her family about the bullying and serious mental health repercussions.
In this powerful presentation that Aija does for students and/or adults, Aija talks about what bullying is, how to become an advocate and show up for ourselves, our students, children and our community and shift the culture of cruelty. Aija focuses heavily on mental health and bullying, in this talk.
Instagram, Poetry & Creating Change
When Aija was on her first book tour, she used poetry as a way to tell her story. Within a few weeks, Madison Square Garden asked her to perform at their stadium. Aija quickly realized that poetry and spoken word were a way to talk about difficult things, disrupt systems and become an advocate and unify people. Aija started filming her spoken word and sharing it online and on social media. Within a few weeks, Aija had gone from 20,000 followers to 250,000.
In this presentation, Aija shares her personal story about creating a global community of hundreds of thousands of people on social media and using poetry to create change and inspire others to start movements. All you need is to speak from your heart and post it.
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