Lauren Scharhag

Poet, Fiction Writer

Author's Bio

Lauren Scharhag (she/her) is an award-winning author of fiction and poetry, and a senior editor at Gleam. She has 19 titles available from Amazon and other retailers, including the In the King's Power series (self-published), Screaming Intensifies (Whiskey City Press), and Ain't These Sorrows Sweet (Roadside Press). She lives in Kansas City, MO. https://linktr.ee/laurenscharhag

 

Publications & Prizes

Fiction

Anthology:
206 Word Stories (Bag of Bones Press, 2022)
Journals:
Ariel Chart
,
io Literary Journal
,
Schlock!

Poetry

Book:
High Water Lines (Prolific Press, 2019)
Prizes won: 
  • Rhysling Award, 2024, 1st Place - "Little Brown Changeling" (long form category) 
  • Elgin Award nomination, 2024 - Moonlight and Monsters
  • Roadmap Short Story Competition, 2024, Top 50 - "Feather and Scale" 
  • Rhysing Award nominations, 2024, Longlist - "Beneath the Bible Belt," "Little Brown Changeling" (Finalist), "The Two of Coins," "When the Honeymoon is Over" (all long form category)
  • Pushcart Prize nomination, 2023 - "Knowing You"
  • Best of the Net nominations, 2023 - "Hallway," "Electronic Voice Phenomenon"
  • Rhysling Award nomination, 2023, shortlist – “Interdimensional Border Town” (long form category)
  • Science Fiction and Fantasy Poetry Association Speculative Poetry Contest, 2022, honorable mention – “Haunted Algorithm” (long poem category)
  • Stephen A. DiBiase Poetry Contest, 2022, finalist - "Priestess"
  • Laureate Prize, Harbor Editions, 2022, longlist - Moonlight and Monsters (poetry collection)
  • Rhysling Award nominations, 2022 - "Priestess" (long poem category), "Extremophile" (short poem category)
  • Shortlist, Bag of Bones 206-Word Story Contest, 2022 - "Merchandise"
  • Pushcart Prize nominations, 2021 – “Priestess,” “Confection”
  • Best of the Net nominations, 2021 - "A Seat at the Table," "Acheiropoieta," "Beauty Released"
  • The Lumiere Review Poetry Contest, 2021 - Top 100 (for a selection of poems)
  • Pushcart Prize nominations, 2020 - "Acheiropoieta," "Nagual"
  • Best of the Net nomination, 2020 - "Return"
  • The Seamus Burns Creative Writing Prize, 2019 (Northern Ireland) - "Comfort Animals"
  • Best of the Net nominations, 2019 - "Without," "The Water Station"
  • Door is a Jar Award, 2017 - "Meteor"
  • Dean’s Undergraduate Fellowship for fiction, Rockhurst University, 2009 – Under Julia
  • Gerard Manley Hopkins Prize for poetry, 2009 - “Ash, Tallow, Candle, Flame, Soap”
  • American Heartland Poetry Award, Honorable Mention, 1996 - “The Call of Aries”

Personal Favorites

Favorite authors: 
Fiction - Stephen King, Cormac McCarthy, Richard Adams, W. Somerset Maugham, Thomas Hardy, Barbara Kingsolver, Kurt Vonnegut, Frances Hodgson Burnett, Amy Tan, Holly Black Poetry - Sylvia Plath, T.S. Eliot, Margaret Atwood, Sherman Alexie, Carol Ann Duffy, Galway Kinnell, Terrance Hayes, W.B. Yeats, Scott Ferry, Octavio Paz

More Information

Gives readings: 
Yes
Travels for readings: 
No
Identifies as: 
Disabled, LGBTQ, Mexican American, Mixed-Race
Prefers to work with: 
Adults, Disability, Illness/Wellness, Incarcerated Individuals, LGBTQ, Naturalists/Environmentalists, Schools, Seniors, Teachers, Women
Fluent in: 
English, Spanish
Born in: 
Kansas City, MO
Missouri
Raised in: 
Kansas City, MO
Missouri
Please note: All information in the Directory is provided by the listed writers or their representatives.
Last update: Nov 14, 2024