Megha Sood

Poet

Author's Bio

  • Megha Sood lives in Jersey City, New Jersey. She is an Assistant Poetry Editor for the UK-based Literary Arts Journal, Mookychick,  Literary Partner in the "Life in Quarantine" Project with CESTA, Stanford University, USA, and Associate Editor with California based Literary Journal "Life and Legends". She is also a contributing author at GoDogGO Cafe, Heretics, Lovers and Madmen, Sudden Denouement, Candles Online, Free Verse Revolution, Whisper and the Roar and Poets Corner. She was a former contributing editor at Literary Journal Ariel Chart(US). 
  • Her works have been featured in Whisper and the Roar, Rising Phoenix Review,521 Magazine, Oddball, Pangolin review, Fourth and Sycamore, KOAN ( Paragon press), Rising Phoenix Review, Mineral Lit Mag, Modern Literature, American Writers Review, SONKU Collective, Poetry Society of New York, WNYC Poetry Prompt, Visual Verse, Dime Show Review, Vita Brevis, Modern poetry, Stray Branch, Piker Press, Spill words Press, Indian periodicals, Literary heist, Little Rose Magazine, The Quiet Corner, Writer's Cafe Magazine, and coming up in Subterranean Blue Poetry, FlowerSongPress, Life and Legends, Borderless Journal, Cafe Dissensus, Moonstone Arts and many more.
  • Her 600+ poems have been featured in online/print literary journals, magazines, and newspapers. Works featured/upcoming in 50 other print anthologies by the US, UK, Australian, and Canadian Press.
  • National Level Winner Spring Robinson/Red Mahogany 2020 Lit Prize by Poetry Matters 
  • Three-time State-level winner of the NAMI ( National Alliance on Mental Illness) Dara Axelrod NJ Poetry Contest 2018/2019/2020.
  • Co-editing anthology ("THE MEDUSA PROJECT", MookyChick). The anthology celebrates the 100 year anniversary of the women's suffrage movement which celebrates the women's right to vote in the United States.
  • Co-editing anthology ("THE KALI PROJECT", Indie Blu(e) Press) featuring the works of the Female Indian Poets about freedom and equality.
  • Literary Partner for the "Life in Quarantine" Project by CESTA, Stanford University, California, USA
  • First Chapbook ( "A Potpourri of Emotions") by Local Gems Press, NY managed by BEAT Poetry Foundation Poet Laureate 2021, James P Wagner.
  • First Full-length collection ("My Body Lives Like a Threat" ) coming soon by FlowerSong Press, 2021, managed by Former Texas Poet Laureate, Edward Viduarre.
  • Chapbook ( "My Body is Not an Apology") soon to be published by Finishing Line Press,2021
  • Pushcart 2020 Nominated by "Rainbow Project" by Poets Wear Prada Journal
  • Featured a Poetry Judge for the State Level NAMI NJ Dara Axelrod Poetry Contest 2021
  • Featured as Slam Poetry Judge for the NSS IIT-D ( Institute of Information Technology) for the Annual Social fest Kaizen,21
  • Recipient of the Poet Fellowship from Martha's Vineyard Institute of Creative Writing ( MVICW) 
  •  
  • Readings/Events/Interviews
  • Poetry as part of the Art Exhibition Group Show “The Women” by Walk_Bye to be placed at City Hall, Jersey City, New Jersey
  • Poetry Featured as part of the JCFPL ( Jersey City Free Public Library) Showcase 2021
  • Featured Poet in the historic Nuyorican Cafe for the “When Women Speak” event
  • Poetry Reading at the Hudson County Community College Cultural Affairs “Step Up to the Mic” Event on April 14, 2021 #NationalPoetryMonth2021
  • Poetry Reading for the 13th Annual Words for Birds 2021 organized by Mitchell Lake Audubon center on April 24, 2021, at 7pm CST/8 pm EST #NationalPoetryMonth2021
  • Poetry reading at the “When Women Speak”(Women empowering women through voice) poetry event on Feb 16, 2021
  • Poetry Reading at the “The Box: Reinvention” event by Jersey City Theater Center curated by the Jersey City Poet Laureate Rescue Poetix and Arial Guidry
  • Poetry Reading at the IFC ( In Full Color)Badass Babe Bash Event on the International Woman’s Day 2021
  • The poem “Survival Is an Art” to be read by award-winning UK Based singer Tally Koren at the “Changing the Face of Poetry” event on World Poetry Day, March 21, 2021
  • Poetry Reading at the Maria Lisella (Queens Poet Laureate)Poetry Workshop, April 15, 2021, at 11:30am EST #NationalPoetryMonth2021
  • Featured Poet in Brownstone Poetry Reading 2020, Brooklyn, New York
  • Featured Poet in Oceanside Library reading, 2020, NY alongside Maria Lisella ( Poet Laureate, Brooklyn, NY and 2020 Fellow Academy of American Poets)
  • Poetry Podcast National Beat Poetry Foundation 2020 Anthology
  • Featured in “Just Breathe”- Jersey City Community Poem curated by JC Poet Laureate Rashad Wright and Jersey City Mayor Steven Fulop.
  • Featured as one of the artists in the Jersey City Theater Center (JCTC)Conversation Online -Voices from around the World by Olga Levina Episode: Strength
  • Featured as one of the artists in the Jersey City Theater Center (JCTC)Conversation Online -Voices from around the World by Olga Levina Episode: Courage
  • Poetry reading at the Jersey City Genre reading night: Night of hidden Life
  • Poetry reading at the Rooftop series at the Department of Cultural Affairs (DOCA) as part of the Jersey City Poetry Festival.
  • Poetry Reading at 2020 NAMI NJ Virtual Annual Meeting Awards Ceremony
  • Poetry reading at Elizabeth Youth Center Ensemble organized by Open Road Poetry
  • Poetry Workshop for an IB Elementary School, Jersey City, New Jersey
  • Poetry reading at the IAWA.NET ( Italian American Writers Association) curated by Queens Poet Laureate Maria Lisella.
  • Poetry Reading at the Brownstone Poets with Yuyutsu Sharma, Bertha Rogers, and Carrie Magnus Radna on Saturday, December 12, 2020
  • Featured on the BlogTalkRadioShow Episode “Generating Awareness” by WOW of Women and Divas That Care Network
  • Podcast Interview on Assiduous Dust by LA-based Joshua Corwin
  • Poetry Featured in the Heard/Word Audio Series of the Galleyway, NY
  • Poetry Reading with Spectrum Publishing, Pasadena, California, USA
  • Poetry Reading with “First Fridays” event at The Soap Box Press
  • Poetry Reading with EIC Glenn Lyvers ( Prolific Press)
  • Hosted the #TopTweetTuesday for the UK Based Black Bough Poetry
  • Poetry reading at the Jersey City Genre reading night: Myths and Monsters
  • Haiku included in sound collage project in works by OCMA ( Orange County Museum of Arts), California, the USA curated by Sound artist Alan Nakagawa
  • Poetry reading at the NAMI ( National Alliance for Mental Illness) Annual awards and Luncheon program 2019.
  • Poetry reading for It Can’t Happen Here at Moonstone Arts Center, Philadelphia on January 31, 2021
  • Book Launch of the Poetry Anthology “Earth: A Place Worth Fighting For” on Feb 17,2021
  • Poetry Reading for the Upcoming Festival of Poetry “Anantha” by Samyukta Poetry on April 17, 2021 at 7:30pm EST #HappyNationalPoetryMonth
  • Poetry Reading at the SETU International Women Poets on December 19, 2020
  • Featured as Guest Speaker at the book launch of “The Read Diary”, a Novel by Neelam Saxena Chandra
  • Poetry Reading at the 5th International Poetry Meet, 12 March 2021
  • Featured Poet in the “Stri Shakti: A Poetic Tribute by Women Poets” by SETU Bilingual Magazine, Pittsburgh, USA
  • Poetry reading at the Radioshow “Songs of Selah” by Scott Thomas Outlar for poems published in Alien Buddha Press House of Horrors #3

 

Publications & Prizes

Anthologies:
Adelaide Poetry Awards Anthology 2020 (Adelaide Books, 2021)
,
It's Can't Happen Here (Moonstone Press, 2021)
,
The Kali Project (Indie Blu(e) Publishing, 2021)
,
Walt Whitman Collaborative Project (Local Gems Poetry Press, 2021)
,
24th Annual Poetry Ink (Moonstone Press, 2020)
,
Adelaide Poetry Awards Anthology (Adelaide Books, 2020)
,
Alien Buddha Contracts COVID (Alien Buddha Press, 2020)
,
As the World Burns (Indie Blu(e) Publishing, 2020)
,
DoveTales: Gardening in the Desert (Dovetail Press, 2020)
,
Fallow Ground (Inwood Press, 2020)
,
Good Cop/Bad Cop Anthology (FlowerSong Press, 2020)
,
National Beat Poetry Foundation- Beat Generation Anthology (Local Gems Poetry Press, 2020)
,
Poets of the Pandemic Unite (Headline Poetry & Press, 2020)
,
She Speaks (Sierra Club Books, 2020)
,
Adelaide Literary Award Poetry Anthology (Adelaide Books, 2019)
,
Flight Magazine (Nightingale & Sparrow, 2019)
,
Heat (Nightingale & Sparrow, 2019)
,
Jitter Press (Prolific Press, 2019)
,
Lift every voice (Lightning Publications, 2019)
,
Madness Muse Press (Madness Muse Press, 2019)
,
Madras Courier (Madras, India, 2019)
,
Poetica Vol 2 (Poetica Press, 2019)
,
Reclaim Anthology (Lulu Press, 2019)
,
Summer's Harvest (Madness Muse Press, 2019)
,
War Cry from the Uterus (Wide Eyes Publishing, 2019)
Book:
My Body Lives Like a Threat (FlowerSong Press, 2021)
Chapbooks:
My Body is Not an Apology (Finishing Line Press, 2021)
,
A Potpourri of Emotions (Local Gems Press, 2020)
Journals:
521magazine
,
Adelaide Literary Magazine
,
American Writers Review
,
Ariel Chart
,
Beautiful Space
,
Beneath the Rainbow
,
Better Than Starbucks
,
Black Bough
,
Crêpe & Penn
,
Dime Show Review
,
Dissident Voice
,
Door is a Jar Magazine
,
DoveTales
,
Dream Noir
,
Dual Coast Magazine
,
Five 2 One Magazine
,
Foliate Oak
,
Former People: A Journal of Bangs and Whimpers
,
Fourth & Sycamore
,
Good Poetry
,
Gyroscope Review
,
Haiku Journal
,
Headline Poetry & Press
,
Home Planet News
,
I am not a silent poet
,
Inwood Indiana
,
Jitter Press
,
Kissing Dynamite: A Journal of Poetry
,
Leaves of Ink
,
Life and Legends
,
Literary Heist
,
Memoryhouse
,
Mineral Lit Mag
,
Modern Poetry in Translation
,
Mojave Heart Review
,
North of Oxford
,
Oddball Magazine
,
Pangolin Review
,
Paragon Journal
,
Poetic Diversity
,
Poetica
,
Poetica Review
,
Poetry Quarterly
,
Poppy Road Review
,
Praxis
,
Quail Bell
,
Rising Phoenix Review
,
Scarlet Leaf Review
,
Spectrum
,
Subterranean Blue Poetry
,
The Basil O'Flaherty
,
The Drabble
,
The Piker Press
,
The Stray Branch
,
Treehouse
,
Unheard Magazine
,
Visitant
,
Vita Brevis
,
vox poetica
Prizes won: 
  • State-level 1st prize winner in NAMI NJ Dara Axelrod Mental Health Poetry contest 2018.
  • State-level 3rd prize winner in the NAMI NJ Dara Axelrod Mental Health Poetry contest 2019.
  • State-level 1st prize winner in the NAMI NJ Dara Axelrod Mental Health Poetry contest 2020.
  • National Level 1st prize winner in the Spring Robinson/Red Mahogany Poetry Prize 2020.
  • Essay and Poetry accepted for the "Life in Quarantine" Project by Stanford University sponsored by CESTA and The Poetic Lab, USA
  • Work selected for reading at the Jersey City Writers "Survival is Insufficient Series" based on the National Book Award Finalist.
  • Work selected for reading at the "Overcoming limitation" series by the Jersey City Writers sponsored by the Jersey City council of Arts.
  • Anthology selected to be featured in the Poets House Summer Showcase in Manhatten, NY.
  • Anthology selected as a finalist in Indie Excellence Awards 2020. 
  • Work selected for reading at the "of Myths and Monsters" series by the Jersey City Writers sponsored by the Jersey City council of Arts.
  • Work featured in America's Best Emerging Poets Series New Jersey edition by Z Publishing
  • Mentioned in the Top 20 in the Pangolin Poetry Prize 2019 Judged by Melissa Studdard
  • Poetry Blog listed as Top 100 poetry blogs to be followed in 2020 by Feedspot
  • Semifinalist in the National Poetry competition by Ewen and Weber Publishing
  • Poetry Reading listed in the Top 20 in the WildSounds Poetry Festival, Los Angeles 
  • Finalist in the Adelaide Literary Award 2019 for the Best Poem Category
  • Nominated for the Arcs Prose Poetry Award 2020
  • Work selected in the World's Biggest Poetry Anthology: Sounds of Peace (SOPWBACP) by League of Poets.
  • Poetry featured on the Dineen Hull Arts Gallery, New Jersey in honor of the National Poetry Month 2020 in collaboration with Hudson County Community College (HCCC) and Department of Cultural Affairs (DOCA)
  • Poetry Published in the Desh Videsh Media Group, Florida, USA eMagazine in honor of the National Poetry Month
  • Chosen "Author of the month" by Bilingual SETU Magazine, Pittsburg, USA
  • Poetry accepted for the WNYC Poetry Challenge: "Your poems from isolation" to be featured in Gothamist.com.
  • Nominated for Women Global Award 2020 ( iWomanGlobal Awards) under the Literature Category.
  • Longlisted in Erbacce Prize 2020 amongst 9000+ entries
  • Finalist in Jessie Haver Butler Poetry Contest 2020
  • Finalist forTWIBB ( The Woman Inc Beyond Black) Sakhi Annual Poetry Awards 2019
  • Top 10 Finalist ( Ranked at no 8 ) for the Poetry Super Highway Contest 2020 amongst 13 countries and 978 entries.
  • Nominated for Author of the Month, Dec 2020 by NY based Spillwords Press
  • Nominated for the Author of the Year by 2021 Spillwords Press Awards
  • Finalist for the "Best Poem" Category in the Adelaide Literary Awards 2020, NYC
  • Recipient of Poet Fellowship from Martha's Vineyard Institute of Creative Writing (MVICW) 2021
  • Second Place Winner in the San Gabriel Broadside Poetry Festival 2021

Watch

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Personal Favorites

Favorite authors: 
Kaveh Akbar, Maya Angelou, Shel Silverstein, Edgar Allen Poe, Sylvia Plath, Ilya Kaminsky, Jericho Brown, Walt Whitman, Alexander McCall Smith, Paulo Cohelo, David Sedaris, David Mitchie, Tracy Smith, Natasha Tretheway, Ruskin Bond, Rumi, Ocean Vuong, Ada Limon, Joy Harjo, Melissa Studdard
What I'm reading now: 
Deaf Republic by Ilya Kamisnsky, The Tradition by Jericho Brown, Collection by Maya Angelou by Maya Angelou, The Art of Topiary by Jan Wagner, Night Sky with exit wounds by Ocean Vuong, Lean Against this Late Hour by Garous Abdolmalekian, Calling a Wolf a Wolf by Kaveh Akbar, A Primer for Poets and Readers of Poetry by Gregory Orr, Dead Bright Things by Ada Limon

More Information

Gives readings: 
Yes
Travels for readings: 
Yes
Identifies as: 
South Asian
Prefers to work with: 
Adults
Fluent in: 
English, Hindi
Born in: 
Naya Nangal, India, PB
India
Punjab
Raised in: 
Delhi,India, DL
India
Delhi
Please note: All information in the Directory is provided by the listed writers or their representatives.
Last update: Apr 25, 2021