I received a lovely email today telling me that my most recent poetry collection, Civilians, is a finalist for the 2025 Foreword INDIES Award in Poetry! In 2023, my book Exhibitions: Essays on Art & Atrocity won this award in the Essays categories, which was a great honor but also a huge surprise.

In my writing life, I always work under the assumption that my submissions to journals will be rejected, my applications for fellowships will be turned down, and of course that I will not win the prizes for which my books are nominated. This means when something doesn’t go my way, I don’t feel disappointed. And when I do receive good news, it’s always a delightful piece of news.

Winners in all the prize categories will be announced in June. But, whatever happens to Civilians, I am absolutely thrilled that the book has received this recognition. Hip hip hooray for Civilians!