Maw Shein Win

Poet

El Cerrito, CA
California US

Author's Bio

Maw Shein Win's latest full-length poetry collection is Percussing the Thinking Jar (Omnidawn, 2024) which was shortlisted for the 2025 Northern California Book Award in Poetry. Her previous full-length collection Storage Unit for the Spirit House (Omnidawn, 2020) was nominated for the Northern California Book Award in Poetry, longlisted for thePEN America 2021 Open Book Award, and shortlisted for the Golden Poppy Award for Poetry. Her work has recently been published in JMWW, The American Poetry Review, The Margins, The Bangalore Review, and other journals. She is the inaugural poet laureate of El Cerrito, CA, the 2025 Berkeley Poetry Festival Lifetime Achievement, and the recipient of the 2025 Nomadic/SF Foundation Literary Award for Non-fiction. Win's previous collections include Invisible Gifts (Manic D Press, 2018) and two chapbooks, Score and Bone (Black Lawrence Press/Nomadic Press, 2016) and Ruins of a glittering palace (SPA/Commonwealth Projects, 2013). She teaches poetry in the MFA Program at the University of San Francisco and in the Low Residency MFA Program at Dominican University. Along with Dawn Angelicca Barcelona and Mary Volmer, she is a co-founder of Maker, Mentor, Muse, a literary community. mawsheinwin.com

 

Publications & Prizes

Books:
Percussing the Thinking Jar (Omnidawn, 2024)
,
Storage Unit for the Spirit House (Omnidawn, 2020)
,
Invisible Gifts: Poems (Manic D Press, 2018)
,
Score and Bone (Nomadic Press, 2016)

More Information

Gives readings: 
Yes
Travels for readings: 
Yes
Identifies as: 
Asian American
Prefers to work with: 
Any
Fluent in: 
English
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Last update: Aug 23, 2025