Lauren Scharhag

Poet, Fiction Writer

Author's Bio

Lauren Scharhag (she/her) is an award-winning author of fiction and poetry, and a senior editor at Gleam. She has 14 titles available from Amazon and other retailers. Her 2023 releases include Moonlight and Monsters (Gnashing Teeth Publishing), Morels (Voice Lux Press), and Midnight Glossolalia (with Scott Ferry and Lillian Necakov; Meat for Tea Press). She lives in Kansas City, MO. https://linktr.ee/laurenscharhag

 

Publications & Prizes

Fiction

Anthology:
206 Word Stories (Bag of Bones Press, 2022)
Journals:
Ariel Chart
,
io Literary Journal
,
Schlock!

Poetry

Book:
High Water Lines (Prolific Press, 2019)
Prizes won: 
  • Rhysling Award nomination, 2023, shortlist – “Interdimensional Border Town” (long form category)
  • Science Fiction and Fantasy Poetry Association Speculative Poetry Contest, 2022, honorable mention – “Haunted Algorithm” (long poem category)
  • Stephen A. DiBiase Poetry Contest, 2022, finalist - "Priestess"
  • Laureate Prize, Harbor Editions, 2022, longlist - Moonlight and Monsters (poetry collection)
  • Rhysling Award nominations, 2022 - "Priestess" (long poem category), "Extremophile" (short poem category)
  • Shortlist, Bag of Bones 206-Word Story Contest, 2022 - "Merchandise"
  • Pushcart Prize nominations, 2021 – “Priestess,” “Confection”
  • Best of the Net nominations, 2021 - "A Seat at the Table," "Acheiropoieta," "Beauty Released"
  • The Lumiere Review Poetry Contest, 2021 - Top 100 (for a selection of poems)
  • Pushcart Prize nominations, 2020 - "Acheiropoieta," "Nagual"
  • Best of the Net nomination, 2020 - "Return"
  • The Seamus Burns Creative Writing Prize, 2019 (Northern Ireland) - "Comfort Animals"
  • Best of the Net nominations, 2019 - "Without," "The Water Station"
  • Door is a Jar Award, 2017 - "Meteor"
  • Dean’s Undergraduate Fellowship for fiction, Rockhurst University, 2009 – Under Julia
  • Gerard Manley Hopkins Prize for poetry, 2009 - “Ash, Tallow, Candle, Flame, Soap”
  • American Heartland Poetry Award, Honorable Mention, 1996 - “The Call of Aries”

Personal Favorites

Favorite authors: 
Fiction - Stephen King, Cormac McCarthy, Richard Adams, W. Somerset Maugham, Thomas Hardy, Barbara Kingsolver, Kurt Vonnegut, Frances Hodgson Burnett, Amy Tan, Holly Black Poetry - Sylvia Plath, T.S. Eliot, Margaret Atwood, Sherman Alexie, Carol Ann Duffy, Galway Kinnell, Terrance Hayes, W.B. Yeats, Scott Ferry, Octavio Paz

More Information

Gives readings: 
Yes
Travels for readings: 
No
Identifies as: 
LGBTQ, Mexican American, Mixed-Race
Prefers to work with: 
Adults, Illness/Wellness, Incarcerated individuals, LGBTQ, Naturalists/Environmentalists, Schools, Seniors, Teachers, Women
Fluent in: 
English, Spanish
Born in: 
Kansas City, MO
Missouri
Raised in: 
Kansas City, MO
Missouri
Please note: All information in the Directory is provided by the listed writers or their representatives.
Last update: Jul 09, 2023