Aziza Barnes, who wrote for shows including A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms and Snowfall, has died. They were 32.
Barnes, who used they/them pronouns and was known to their friends as Z, died by suicide on Dec. 15, their family shared via a rep with The Hollywood Reporter. No further details were released.
“With heavy hearts, we regret to inform you of the passing of an undeniable and beloved artist, child, sibling, and friend Aziza ‘Z’ Barnes,” the family said in a statement. “Z has touched and inspired countless individuals both in their community and industry and will be deeply missed and endlessly loved by all who were fortunate to have experienced their presence and work.”
The statement concluded, “An incomparable talent, we look for understanding in Z’s words, and wish comfort and understanding as we grieve this loss.”
Safia Elhillo, a longtime friend of Barnes, remembered Z on her substack, writing, “my friend, who was a brilliant writer and bender of genre, who died too soon, who leaves an entire community behind, gathered in grief. I don’t have language of my own yet, not really,” Elhillo noted before sharing a poem that her friend wrote when they were kids.
Barnes was born in Los Angeles in October 1992. They earned their bachelor’s of fine arts from New York University before going on to pursue their master’s in fine arts at the University of Mississippi. In addition to their writing on upcoming Game of Thrones prequel A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, Snowfall, Rap Sh!t and Teenage Bounty Hunter, Barnes had multiple, full-length collections of poetry.
They were a member of NYU’s Poetry Slam team and The Dance Cartel. Barnes’ work won them the best poet in the nation award in 2011 and several other honors over the course of their poetry career.
Source: Hollywoodreporter
