Shawn Aveningo Sanders

Poet

Beaverton, OR
Oregon US
Email: 
Shawn@RedShoePoet.com
Website: 
RedShoePoet.com

Author's Bio

Shawn Aveningo Sanders started out as show-me girl from Missouri and after a bit of globetrotting finally landed in Portland, Oregon, where she miraculously overcame her fear of birds upon meeting two baby juncos in her backyard. Shawn’s work has appeared in over 140 literary journals and anthologies. She’s a Pushcart nominee (2015, 2025), Best of the Net nominee (2017), Touchstone Award nominee (2025), co-founder of The Poetry Box (https://thepoetrybox.com), and former managing editor for The Poeming Pigeon. She was named Best Female Poet-Performer in Sacramento News & Review Reader Poll (2009)) and was winner of the first poetry slam in Placerville, California (2012). Shawn is a proud mother of three amazing adults, and she shares the creative life with her husband. You can learn more about her at RedShoePoet.com or ThePoetryBox.com.

Publications & Prizes

Anthologies:
Love Is For All of Us (Storey Publishing, 2025)
,
Longest Hours: Thoughts While Waiting (Silver Boomer Books, 2013)
,
From the Four Chambered Heart: In Tribute to Anais Nin (Sybaritic Press, 2013)
Book:
What She Was Wearing (Poetry Box, 2019)
Chapbook:
POCKETS (MoonPath Press, 2025)
Journals:
Tule Review
,
About Place Journal
,
Amethyst Review
,
Amsterdam Quarterly
,
Autumn Sky Poetry Daily
,
Blue Heron Review
,
Boston Poetry Magazine
,
Calyx, A Journal of Art and Literature by Women
,
Cloudbank
,
Contemporary Haibun Online
,
Convergence
,
Drifting Sands
,
Eunoia Review
,
Four Tulips
,
From the Depths
,
Gyroscope Review
,
MacQueen's Quinterly
,
Naugatuck River Review
,
New Verse News
,
One Art
,
Poetic Diversity
,
Poetry Breakfast
,
Rattle
,
RockPaperPoem
,
Sheila-Na-Gig
,
Snapdragon
,
Thimble Literary Magazine
,
Verse-Virtual
,
Verseweavers
,
Yellow Arrow Journal
Prizes won: 
  • Best Female Poet-Sacramento News & Review Reader Poll (2009)
  • First Place - Barbaric Yawp (Poetry Slam), Placerville CA, (2013)
  • First Place - Voices of Lincoln 8th Annual Poetry Contest (2012)
  • Top Ten Honorable Mention - Benicia Love Poem Contest (2014)
  • Pushcart Nominee (2015)
  • Best of the Net Nominee (2017)
  • Honorable Mention - Oregon Poetry Association Contest (2017)
  • 2nd Place - Oregon Poetry Association Contest, Members Only (2018)
  • Honorable Mention - Oregon Poetry Association Contest (2021)
  • 2nd Place - Oregon Poetry Association Contest, Members Only (2024)
  • Finalist, Concrete Wolf Chapbook Contest (2024)
  • 2nd Place - Oregon Poetry Association Contest, Poet's Choice (2025)
  • Finalist, Steve Kowitz Poetry Award, San Diego Arts Council (2026)
  • Honorable Mention, Allen Ginsberg Poetry Award (2026)
  • Rattle Prompt Poem of the Month (April, 2026)

Watch

More Information

Gives readings: 
Yes
Travels for readings: 
Yes
Prefers to work with: 
Any
Fluent in: 
English
Born in: 
Bonne Terre, MO
Missouri
Raised in: 
St Louis, MO
Missouri
Please note: All information in the Directory is provided by the listed writers or their representatives.
Last update: May 11, 2026