Michelle Peñaloza

Poet

Covelo, CA
California US
Twitter/X: 

Author's Bio

Michelle Peñaloza is the author of Former Possessions of the Spanish Empire, which won the 2018 Hillary Gravendyk National Poetry Prize and will be published in August 2019 by Inlandia Books.  She also wrote two chapbooks, landscape/heartbreak (Two Sylvias, 2015), and Last Night I Dreamt of Volcanoes (Organic Weapon Arts, 2015). Her poems can be found in Prairie Schooner, Pleiades, Third Coast, The Normal School and elsewhere. A Kundiman fellow and a graduate of the University of Oregon MFA program, Michelle was the recent winner of the 2019 Scotti Merrill Emerging Writer Award for Poetry from The Key West Literary Seminar. Michelle lives in rural Northern California.

Publications & Prizes

Anthology:
Two Countries: US Daughters & Sons of Immigrant Parents (Red Hen Press, 2017)
Book:
Former Possessions of the Spanish Empire (Inlandia Institute, 2019)
Chapbooks:
landscape / heartbreak (Two Sylvias Press, 2015)
,
Last Night I Dreamt of Volcanoes (Organic Weapon Arts, 2015)
Prizes won: 

Hilary Gravendyk National Book Award, Inlandia Books, 2019.  

Scotti Merrill Emerging Writer Award, Key West Literary Seminar, 2019.

Artist Trust Fellowship, Seattle, WA, 2016

4Culture Art Projects Award, 4Culture, Seattle, WA, 2015.

Grants for Artist Projects (GAP), Artist Trust, Seattle, WA. 2014.

George Stratton Scholarship, Napa Valley Writers' Conference. 2012.

Manuel G. Flores Scholarship, Philippine American Writers and Artists, Inc. 2012.

Duckabush Poetry Prize, for “Case Study: Beauty,” A River and Sound Review. 2011. 

The Women Writers Fellowship, Oregon Literary Fellowships, Literary Arts. 2011.

Starlin Poetry Award, Creative Writing Program, University of Oregon. 2009.

More Information

Gives readings: 
Yes
Travels for readings: 
Yes
Identifies as: 
Asian American, Filipino American
Prefers to work with: 
Any, Seniors, Teenagers
Fluent in: 
English
Born in: 
Dearborn, MI
Michigan
Raised in: 
Nashville, TN
Tennessee
Please note: All information in the Directory is provided by the listed writers or their representatives.
Last update: May 04, 2019