Denise Miller

Poet

Kalamazoo, MI
Michigan US

Author's Bio

Denise Miller (they/she) is a poet, playwright, and mixed media artist. Their book publications include Core, released in 2015 and nominated for a 2016 American Book Award and a 2016 Pushcart Prize, their chapbook, Ligatures was published in 2016 by Rattle Press. They also won the 2020 Sexton Prize for Poetry for their full-length poetry collection, A Ligature for Black Bodies. Their produced plays include Ligatures (adapted for the stage) and Before the Shooting. Their fellowships and residencies include Hedgebrook, a William Randolph Hearst Fellowship at the American Antiquarian Society, Prairie Ronde, Behtnay Center for the Arts, Storyknife, Willapa Bay, and Kimmel Harding Nelson Center for the Arts Fellow​ships. Their most recent full length poetry collection title How to Make An American Mass Shooter was released this past October by Querencia Press. They are currently working on a collection of short stories. For more of their work, visit http://www.denisemiller.studio.

Publications & Prizes

Books:
How To Make An American Mass Shooter (Querencia Press, 2024)
,
A Ligature For Black Bodies (Eyewear Publishing, 2020)
,
Core (Willow Books, 2015)
Chapbook:
Ligatures (Rattle, 2016)
Journals: , , , , ,
Rogue Agent
,
Ruminate
,
Synaesthesia Magazine
,
The Collapsar
,
The Offing
Prizes won: 

2021 Ruminate Broadside Poetry Prize, 2020 Sexton Prize for Poetry Winner, 2016 Rattle Chapbook Award prize winner for Ligatures

2024 Best American Essays Nominee, 2022 International Book Awards Finalist,  2016 Pushcart Prize nominee for Dear Spectators, 2015 Pushcart Prize nominee for Libations, 2015 Pushcart Prize nominee for Core, 2015 American Book Award nominee for Core

 

Personal Favorites

Favorite authors: 
Toni Morrison Danez Smith Edward P. Jones Resmaa Menakem Tyehimba Jess Saeed Jones Jesmyn Ward Nnedi Okorafor Ocean Vuong Natasha Trethewey John Edgar Wideman Suzan-Lori Parks
What I'm reading now: 
The Lyric Essay As Resistance by Zoë Bossiere

More Information

Gives readings: 
Yes
Travels for readings: 
Yes
Identifies as: 
African American, Queer
Born in: 
Cadiz, OH
Ohio
Raised in: 
Cadiz, OH
Ohio
Please note: All information in the Directory is provided by the listed writers or their representatives.
Last update: Jan 16, 2025