“Matter and Antimatter” in HAD

To be honest, I was just thrilled to catch HAD’s submission period for once. I usually miss them since they open and close so quickly. I came back to my office after a Friday morning class, opened my laptop, and saw the call. The theme: Endings. Well, that’s my specialty these days (years) I suppose. I raced to send some poems before they reached the cap. I was so surprised to get a message from Mitch Nobis later that day saying that he loved “Matter and Antimatter.” It’s a heavy one, so I’m extra grateful for the love. I wrote it in response to a news article I read last year.

Verse Daily & Moon Prize & Pushcart (Oh my!)

I’ve been feeling a bit overwhelmed by the good poetry news I’ve received lately, and I’m behind on sharing it here…

At the end of September, my poem “One Way to Use a Deck of Cards” from How to Play was featured on Verse Daily!

Last month, two of my poems were published in Writing in a Woman’s Voice: “After an Older Man from Church Drunk-Texts to Tell Me I Looked Good Topless in His Dream Last Night” and “What’s Something You Love That Can’t Love You Back?”

Also in October, two of my poems were published in Pirene’s Fountain: “This Poem Is about Dinosaurs” and “Choosing a Moon.” This whole issue is fantastic, and you can purchase a copy at this link.

This month, I’ve gotten some happy award news! “After an Older Man from Church…” received the Moon Prize from Writing in a Woman’s Voice on November 9, and “This Poem Is about Dinosaurs” was just nominated for a Pushcart Prize this week! I’m so grateful to these editors who’ve published and affirmed my work and to the folks who encourage me and read my poems.

Simultánea, Play Forever: A Celebratory Reading!

On Oct. 1, Margarita Pintado, Emma McCoy, and I had a wonderful time celebrating our new poetry collections with a virtual reading for a lovely audience that included folks from San Diego to Nairobi!

If you’d like to catch the recording of our reading, you can find it now on YouTube.

If you’d like to get copies of our collections, here are the links to purchase them:

Emma McCoy’s “In Case I Live Forever”
Margarita Pintado’s “Simultánea, La Marea”
Katie Manning’s “How to Play”

Thanks for supporting poets and poetry!

A Celebratory Reading!

I had so much fun reading with these amazing poets in person a couple weeks ago, and so many people from all over told us they wished they could be there, so I’ve asked Margarita Pintado and Emma McCoy to join me for a virtual celebration! We’d love for you to join us on Zoom this Saturday, Oct. 1, at 10 a.m. Pacific. Grab your beverage of choice and let us read to you from our new poetry collections. Register at this link.

Two Interviews

I’ve been remiss in sharing these two interviews that’ve gone live over the past month!

Nancy Brashear, my incredibly kind former colleague who is also a wonderful novelist, interviewed me for her blog. This interview comes with a chapbook giveaway, so you can read it for a chance to win a copy of How to Play. (You should also follow Nancy on Twitter @drnancybrashear.)

I also got to do an interview as the editor of Whale Road Review for Iss. 42 of Alien Buddha Zine. This zine and press put out so much great work, so you should definitely check them out and follow them on Twitter @thealienbuddha too.

Glen Workshop, La Playa Books, SDUT Festival of Books

The past month was full! We crammed in as much last-minute summer break fun as we could (and I’m still a bit sore from two nights of all-you-can-play laser tag) while also trying to prepare for the new semester. Last week was full of meetings, and this week we all started school again!

The end of July and the month of August still found me immersed in poetry though. Highlights include a week in Asheville at the Glen Workshop, where I took the lyric essay workshop with Molly McCully Brown and had so much fun with writer friends. It was especially fun to be there when Agape Editions announced that they’ll be publishing my second full-length poetry collection, Hereverent, in Spring 2023! These dear friends stole me away to celebrate…

Another highlight: a reading at my delightful little neighborhood bookshop, La Playa Books, with Leonora Simonovis and Karla Cordero…

Recent highlight: a full day at the poetry stage at the SD-UT Festival of Books, where I got to host the teen and young adult poets, including two of my rockstar students, Emma McCoy and Aliah Fabros, and also enjoy readings by several more incredible San Diego poets and friends.

I’m looking forward to more readings and good things coming soon. If you’re in San Diego, join Margarita Pintado, Emma McCoy, and me at PLNU for a joint poetry book release celebration in Colt Hall at 4:30 on Wednesday, Sept. 14! We’ll each be reading from our newly published poetry collections, and it’s going to be a fun time.

A Hundred Pitchers of Honey

Reading in Donna Vorreyer’s virtual series, A Hundred Pitchers of Honey, was such a delight this past Thursday evening! I shared some poems from How to Play, along with a couple of newer dinosaur poems, and I loved getting to hear my fellow readers–Fox Henry Frazier, Ann Hudson, and Steven Sanchez. Their incredible readings might’ve caused me to do some book buying immediately after…

If you’d like to relive the magic, the reading is now on YouTube! Grab a cold drink and imagine you’re with us in real time. 🙂

“The Minor Mutation” in Dreams & Nightmares

I just realized that I missed sharing this fantastic anthology when it was published! (May was a wild month for me… and so was June… and July actually…)

I love that my poem “Baby Dream #15: The Minor Mutation” was reprinted in Dreams & Nightmares: An Anthology. Thanks to editor Aura Martin and her team of artists for bringing this incredible book into being! I’m so thrilled to have my work in the company of Rick Hollon, Amorak Huey, Nicole Tallman, Maria Picone, Shiksha Dheda, Joyce Liu, Aleah Dye,  Shane Schick, Tatiana Clark, Jared Beloff, Nova Wang, Heath Joseph Wooten, and more!

Mom Egg Review: Poem & Launch Reading!

My poem “Dear Carol,” was published in the new issue of Mom Egg Review, and I’m so excited to be part of the issue’s virtual launch reading on June 2.

You can register for the June 2 free virtual launch reading at this link.
(The second launch reading on June 5 will also be excellent.)

You can also purchase a print edition or PDF edition of the new issue, and you should. This one is especially fantastic!