Lascaux & Desert Rat Prizes

These past few months have been busy with travel and new class preps, but I’m finally taking a moment to share good poetry news here!

My poem “On the Night We Met, My Father Gave Me Icarus” was chosen as a finalist for The Lascaux Review Poetry Prize! The finalist award also included a monetary prize and publication. I’m thrilled that this poem found a home in such good company. Congrats to Nafisa Iqbal and my fellow finalists!

I also learned that my poem “At the Bird Rehab Facility in Vermont” was chosen by Kelli Russell Agodon as a runner-up for the Desert Rat Poetry Prize! Again, my work keeps some great company.

 

Coming soon… an update about the readings I’ve done recently!

Interview in The Brooklyn Rail

I’m having trouble finding the words to share this interview that Tony Leuzzi did with me for The Brooklyn Rail. Whatever I say about it won’t quite capture how meaningful it is to me that he took such time and care with my work. His interview questions were thoughtful and generous, and his intro—with language like “What a relief and joy then it has been to encounter Katie Manning’s Hereverent,” and “Time and again, the poems in Hereverent left me astonished”—is incredibly affirming. He even had his students read Hereverent and write poems in the style of my project! What a gift.

You can read the full interview here.

 

My Op-Ed in Tangle

I subscribe to Tangle, this great news source that deep dives into a major story each day and aggregates a spectrum of perspectives on it. They just started a new Sunday Edition and called for reader op-ed pitches, and they chose mine to print first!

They’ve reprinted my “Con Pane” poem (first published in Limp Wrist) along with a short essay about the importance of Con Pane Rustic Breads & Cafe in my life (and I could’ve said so much more…). ❤️

Note: You do have to be a subscriber to read the op-ed in full on the Tangle site.

My Jeff Goldblum Thirst Poem!

Remember my Jeff Goldblum thirst poem? Well, Faith Allen of Geez Louise Productions loved it so much that she licensed it, created an image, and put it on some items. So now there’s a version of my poem shaped like Jeff Goldblum that you can purchase as a mug. Or a poster. Or a tote bag. Or…

I’m so tickled by this! I can’t wait to receive my items in the mail. If you love Jeff Goldblum and/or poetry and/or me and/or supporting a mom’s small business, I hope you’ll get yourself something and perhaps do some Christmas shopping too! Visit GeezeLouiseProductions.com to see all of the fun stuff she’s got available.

Last Syllable is live!

I’m so thrilled to share that we’ve published Issue 1 of Last Syllable, the new online literary journal created and run by the students in PLNU’s M.A. in Writing program!

My Editing & Publishing class created this journal from scratch this semester—everything from choosing the name to designing the website to reading over 500 submissions to curating, setting up, and promoting this first issue and more! They did an incredible amount of work, and this gorgeous issue that they’ve produced is such a great way to bring this new journal to life.

I knew there was a gap in publishing venues for longform writing (which is why that’s our focus!), but I never dreamed that over 500 people would give Last Syllable a chance during this first reading period. I’m so proud of my grad students, who are not only incredible writers themselves, but also such thoughtful and engaged editors who are so fun to be with each week. And I’m grateful for all of the writers—those published in this issue and not—who trusted our new journal with their work! I hope many readers let themselves get lost in this first issue for awhile.