BOA Blog

There’s a lot of moving between past & present in this book, and a lot of talking to or talking for things that can’t talk back (a “younger self,” “Sweet fears,” etc.) What role do you see those voices playing in this collection? I wrote about this a bit (about my poem “Reader, I Married Him”) for Poetry Society of America’s “In Their Own Words” series… one of the hardest things for me, sometimes, is to extend compassion to my past self, to that younger version of me I usually think of as incredibly foolish, or preoccupied with all the wrong things, especially things I...

We are very happy to announce that BOA is adding two new staff members to our team! Please join us in welcoming Kathryn Bratt-Pfotenhauer, our new Director of Development & Publicity, and Justine Alfano, our new Director of Production.  Kathryn and Justine were originally part of the BOA intern crew before assuming their new roles. As we welcome them, we say goodbye and send our thanks to Genevieve Hartman, our former Director of Development & Publicity, and Michelle Dashevsky, our former Director of Production, for their work to advance BOA's mission over the past few years.    Kathryn Bratt-Pfotenhauer (they/she) is the author...

 We asked our Spring 2023 authors to share about a food or drink to enjoy while reading their book, or one that appears often in their new collection from BOA. Margaret Ray is the author of the debut poetry collection Good Grief, the Ground, and below, she shares a little back story and a cocktail (or mocktail) that pairs well with her poems. Cheers, and happy reading! from Margaret Ray: "The three foods that show up the most over the course of GOOD GRIEF, THE GROUND are peaches, apples, and… meat.  I am interested in human carnivorousness and the baked-in reckoning with mortality that...

It’s Women’s History Month, and here at BOA we’d like to take this opportunity to celebrate our phenomenal women authors! Since our start in 1976, we’ve been a proud publisher of women, from Lucille Clifton, Dorianne Laux, and Brigit Pegeen Kelly, to the present day, with books from Alicia Mountain, Margaret Ray, Jessica Q. Stark, Mahtem Shiferraw, and Jeannine Hall Gailey publishing this spring. We’re so excited to celebrate their work, and we’re not alone! Take a look at some recent buzz for our women authors and treat yourself to some good books: Barbara Jane Reyes, author of Letters to...

BOA will be tabling at AWP’s Conference & Bookfair this year in Seattle, Washington! The 2023 AWP Conference & Bookfair takes place March 8–11 at the Seattle Convention Center, Seattle, WA. More information and updates can be found on AWP’s website. You’ll find BOA at Booth #1232! Below we’ve compiled lists of all signings, panels, and offsite events featuring BOA writers. We'll keep updating this list as we learn of new events, so check back later for more! Author Book Signings at the BOA Booth (#1232) Thursday, March 9 Alicia Mountain, author of Four in Hand at 10:00 AM - 10:30 AM Matt Donovan, author of The Dug-Up...