Melinda Clemmons’ writing has appeared in One Art, Rust + Moth, Midwest Review, Shrew, West Trestle Review, The Imprint, and elsewhere. Her first poetry collection, Closer, was published by Pine Row Press in September 2026.
Photo by Stephanie Williamson
She was a finalist for the 2025 Richard-Gabriel Rummonds Poetry Prize from Ex Ophidia Press as well as the Wandering Aengus Press Book Award. With an earlier version of the Closer manuscript, she was a finalist for the Richard Snyder Memorial Publication Prize from Ashland Poetry Press, and a semi-finalist for both the Word Works Washington Prize and the Red Mountain Press Discovery Award.
Melinda grew up in Southern Illinois, and now lives in Oakland, California, where she works as a freelance writer for nonprofits. Contact at mblackorby(at)gmail(dot)com.