Kelly Starling Lyons was born in Pittsburgh. She grew up in the South Hills neighborhood of Beechview and attended Pittsburgh Public Schools, including Brashear High School, from which she graduated. Lyons knew she wanted to be an author from a young age. She has attributed her early interest in writing to her family, teachers, and the legacy of African American writers in Pittsburgh. Her mother, a writer, singer, playwright, and actress, nurtured Lyons’ passion for stories. As a child, her mother told her and her brother bedtime tales, which taught Lyons the magic of storytelling. Her mother also took them to the Playhouse Jr. and the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh. These two places, Lyons said, "... [are] where my dream of creating stories grew. I’m proud of my Pittsburgh roots" (Lyons, email to Bernadette A. Lear). Lyons’ first writings were entries in her diary, which she later expanded to include poems and fantasy narratives. Pittsburgh served as the backdrop for most of her early works. 

While growing up, however, Lyons rarely encountered books with main characters that looked like her. When she saw Mildred D. Taylor’s Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry for the first time in third grade, she was unable to look away: "I couldn’t stop staring at the girl on the cover. It was like she was saying to me that my story mattered, my family was important, and our history deserved to be shared and passed on. I didn’t realize it then, but that book planted the seed of a dream in my heart" (Lyons, "Kelly Starling Lyons: Author Study Guide"). 

That seed began to sprout at Syracuse University, where she earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in African American Studies and a Master of Science degree in Magazine Journalism. At Syracuse, she was introduced to the Black Arts Movement and began writing poems and essays celebrating African American history and heritage. Lyons pursued a professional career with the Syracuse Herald-Journal, Raleigh News & Observer, and Ebony Magazine, where she also worked as an Associate Editor. At Ebony Magazine, she encountered more stories from African American authors, especially Something Beautiful by Sharon Dennis Wyeth, and felt a calling to add her voice to children’s bookshelves.

Lyons’ body of work is notable partially because she has produced African American-centered children’s books within an industry that has lacked stories where " ... Black people are represented in full, nuanced, creative, and joyous ways" (Johnson and Turner 49). NEATE: Eddie's Ordeal (2004), published by Just Us Books, depicts a father concerned over his son’s failing grades, which runs counter to common, inaccurate stereotypes about absent or disengaged Black parents. Reviewing Lyons’ second work, One Million Men and Me (2007), for the New Pittsburgh Courier, Ayrelle Comans applauded Lyons’ positive representation of African American males, stating that the book "... shows Black men in a positive position doing the right thing ... because generally the mainstream media does not portray them that way. 'One Million Men and Me' shows strong, respectable Black men taking a stand." 

Lyons has produced high-quality easy readers and chapter books featuring contemporary African American children as protagonists, writing with a purpose to "center Black heroes, celebrate family, friendship, and heritage, and show all kids the stories they hold inside" (Lyons, "Home"). Her easy reader series, Ty’s Travels, was the first My First I Can Read series from HarperCollins to focus on an African American family. An early work in the series, Ty’s Travels: Zip Zoom, won the Geisel Honor Award in 2021 and the sixth volume, Camp Out, was selected by the Pennsylvania Center for the Book as a Great Read in 2024. As Lyons explained in an interview, she has striven to "... underscore that not only do Black lives matter, but that Black joy matters" (Lodge).

Lyons’ work has also explored African American history. For example, Tea Cakes for Tosh (2012), inspired by Lyons’ relationship with her grandmother, skillfully demonstrates emotional bonds and cultural knowledge shared across generations. It was recognized by the National Council for Social Studies as a Notable Social Studies Trade Book for Young People in 2013. Hope’s Gift (2012), which celebrates the 150th anniversary of the Emancipation Proclamation, follows an enslaved girl who misses her father after he escaped to fight in the Union Army. Lyon’s representation of slavery has provided readers and educators "... opportunities to emphasize the humanity and ingenuity of enslaved persons, challenging stereotypes about their willingness to accept their positions" (Patterson and Shuttleworth 24). Hope’s Gift was also recognized as a Notable Social Studies Trade Books for Young People in 2014.

Some of Lyons’ books feature Pittsburgh and the surrounding area, or draw from her experiences growing up there. For example, Sing a Song: How "Lift Every Voice and Sing" Inspired Generations (2019) is based in Pittsburgh after the family moves there as part of the Great Migration, as Lyons’ family did. Deborah Stevenson, reviewing Sing a Song for the Bulletin for the Center of Children’s Books noted, "There are plenty of picture-book editions illustrating James Weldon Johnson’s text of 'Lift Every Voice and Sing,' but the song’s historical impact is often relegated to an afterword. Lyons makes that impact the focus of this narrative that follows a nameless family over generations" (Stevenson 484). Going Down Home with Daddy (2019) celebrates family reunions, landownership, and African American heritage. One of Lyons’ inspirations for the story was her grandmother’s former land in Gibsonia, Pennsylvania: "... [my grandmother] always talked about how special it [the family’s land] was and how people would come together there and what it meant" (Van Atten; Lyons, email to Bernadette A. Lear). Both books were recognized as a Notable Social Studies Trade Book for Young People in 2020.

Aside from writing, Lyons has been an advocate and organizer for Black authors and illustrators. She was a founding member of The Brown Bookshelf, a collective dedicated to increasing the visibility of Black creatives and children's books. Following the U.S. Presidential Election in 2016, Lyons authored, and The Brown Bookshelf published, "A Declaration in Support of Children" signed by 691 authors, illustrators, and industry professionals, committing their talents and artistic expression to eliminate fear and hatred "... to empower children, affirm their lives and stand up for change" (Lyons, "A Declaration in Support of Children"). In 2020, following the murder of George Floyd and a national call for social reform, Lyons and other members of The Brown Bookshelf authored "A Call to Action" aimed at garnering more support for Black narratives, authors, creatives, and employees within the publishing industry.

As of this writing, Lyons resides in North Carolina with her two children.