Alpay Ulku's debut collection Meteorology (BOA, 1999) was selected as a "Notable Debut" by the Academy of American Poets Book Club. He received an MFA from the Iowa Writers' Workshop and fellowships from the Helen Wurlitzer Foundation and the Fine Arts Work Center in Provincetown, Massachusetts. His work has appeared in many literary magazines, including Black Warrior Review, Gettysburg Review, and Malahat Review.