B. Elizabeth Beck

Poet, Fiction Writer

Lexington, KY
Kentucky US
Email: 
author@elizbeck.com
Website: 
elizbeck.com

Author's Bio

B. Elizabeth Beck is the author of five collections of poetry, including Mama Tried (Broadstone Books), winner of the American Book Festival Prize for Poetry. She is the author of the Summer Tour Trilogy. Swan Songs is her debut collection of short stories (Accents Publishing). She placed as finalist in the Kentucky State Poetry Society Grand Prix Prize and has been nominated several times for the Pushcart Prize. Elizabeth is a recipient of the Kentucky Foundation for Women Grant. Her work appears in journals and anthologies, including Poetica Magazine, Applachian Review, Limestone Blue, and Harvard Education Press. Elizabeth founded two monthly poetry series: Teen Howl and Poetry at the  /ˈtāb(ə)l/ in Lexington, Kentucky.

Publications & Prizes

Fiction

Anthology:
NEA Teacher Stories (Harvard University Press, 2017)
Books:
Swan Songs (Accents Publishing, 2025)
,
Under the Elm (createspace (self-publisher), 2022)
,
World Gone Mad (createspace (self-publisher), 2021)
,
Summer Tour (createspace (self-publisher), 2020)
Journals:
Action, Spectacle
,
Garfield Lake Review
,
PLUCK!

Poetry

Anthologies:
New Generation Beats Anthology (National Beat Poetry Foundation, 2025)
,
Maps We Forget to Bring (Accents Publishing, 2021)
,
The Heavy Lifting (Accents Publishing, 2017)
,
The Messenger is Sudden Thunder (Accents Publishing, 2016)
,
Veil, Halos and Shackles (Kasva Press, 2016)
,
This Wretched Vessel (Accents Publishing, 2015)
,
Her Limestone Bones (Accents Publishing, 2014)
,
Bigger Than They Appear (Accents Publishing, 2011)
Books:
Dancing on the Page (Rabbit House Press, 2024)
,
Mama Tried (Broadstone Books, 2022)
,
Painted Daydreams: Collection of Ekphrastic Poems (Accents Publishing, 2019)
,
Interiors (Finishing Line Press, 2013)
Journals:
Afterpast Review
,
Appalachian Review
,
Chaffey Review
,
Evening Street Review
,
Kudzu Review
,
Meadow
,
Poetica Magazine
,
Red River Review
,
Subliminal Interiors
,
The Rusty Nail
,
Trivia: A Journal of Ideas
Prizes won: 

Finalist for the KSPS Grand Prix Poetry Prize. American Fiction Award winner 2022. Thrice nominated for the Pushcart Prize. Nominated for the 2013 Lenore Marshall Poetry Prize. Awarded Kentucky Foundation for Women Artist Enrichment Grant 2012, Claes Nobel Educator of Distinction Award 2006, Teacher of the Year FCPS 2005 and 2006, FAME Recipient FCPS 2006 and 2009

More Information

Gives readings: 
Yes
Travels for readings: 
Yes
Identifies as: 
White
Prefers to work with: 
Teenagers
Fluent in: 
English
Born in: 
Youngstown
Raised in: 
KY
Kentucky
Please note: All information in the Directory is provided by the listed writers or their representatives.
Last update: Jun 11, 2025