Kanika Agrawal

Poet

Author's Bio

Kanika Agrawal is a queer Indian writer and mad diasporic hybrid developed across six countries on four continents. As an (im)migrant and former scientist-in-training, she works between and across languages, geographies and disciplines.

She received a BS in Biology and a BS in Writing from MIT. She then earned an MFA in Writing from Columbia University and a PhD in English and Literary Arts from the University of Denver, teaching academic and creative writing at both institutions. She has also taught writing to incarcerated writers and at shelters for people experiencing homelessness, addiction, and domestic violence. 

Kanika currently serves as an editor at Conjunctions, Foglifter, and khōréō. Her own work appears or is forthcoming in Best American Experimental Writing 2020, Black Warrior Review, filling Station, FOLDER, Notre Dame Review, Paperbag, SAND, and various other publications. She has been awarded residencies by the Djerassi Resident Artists Program, Hedgebrook, MacDowell, and Vermont Studio Center.

Education: 
Columbia University School of the Arts MFA
Writers Retreats: 
Community of Writers
Juniper Summer Writing Institute
MacDowell
Vermont Studio Center

Publications & Prizes

Anthology:
Best American Experimental Writing 2020 (Wesleyan University Press, 2020)
Journals:
Black Warrior Review
,
Foglifter
,
SAND
Prizes won: 

Fellowship, 2020 Spring Residency, Vermont Studio Center; Fellowship, 2019 Fall Residency, The MacDowell Colony; Poetry Fellow, 2019 Lit Fest Fellowship for Emerging Writers (Judge: Bhanu Kapil), Lighthouse Writers Workshop; Finalist, 2019 Eliza So Finish-Your-Book Fellowship, Submittable; Finalist, 2019 BOAAT Book Prize, BOAAT Press; Finalist, 2019 First Book Poetry Competition, Cleveland State University Poetry Center; Finalist (final results pending), 2019 Gaudy Boy Poetry Book Prize, Singapore Unbound; Semifinalist, 2019 Berkshire Prize, Tupelo Press; Semifinalist, 2019 Snowbound Chapbook Award, Tupelo Press; Winner (Fiction), 2019 Boulder Short Short Contest, Writing By Writers; Winner, 2018 Oversound Chapbook Prize (Judge: Solmaz Sharif), Oversound; Winner, 2018 Flash Contest (Judge: Jennifer S. Cheng), Black Warrior Review; Runner-up, 2018 Poetry Contest (Judge: Vanessa Angélica Villarreal), Black Warrior Review; Winner (Dwarf form), 2017 Poetry Contest (Judge: Nikia Chaney), Science Fiction and Fantasy Poetry Association

Personal Favorites

What I'm reading now: 
Mirrors: Stories of Almost Everyone by Eduardo Galeano, The Mind Is Flat by Nick Chater, EXTRATRANSMISSION by Andrea Abi-Karam

More Information

Gives readings: 
Yes
Travels for readings: 
Yes
Identifies as: 
South Asian
Prefers to work with: 
Adults, Disability, Homelessness, Illness/Wellness, Immigration, Incarcerated Individuals, LGBTQ, Mental Health, Naturalists/Environmentalists, Schools, Teachers, Women
Fluent in: 
English, Hindi
Born in: 
Manama
Bahrain
Please note: All information in the Directory is provided by the listed writers or their representatives.
Last update: Sep 02, 2026