Lana Hechtman Ayers, originally from New York, settled in the Pacific Northwest after a decade in New England. She is managing editor of three poetry presses: Concrete Wolf Poetry Series, MoonPath Press, and World Enough Writers. She facilitates generative writing workshops in the Amherst Method, runs a poetry book club, helps other poets assemble manuscripts, and teaches at writer’s conferences.
Ayers earned BAs in Mathematics and Psychology, holds a Masters in Counseling Therapy, and possesses MFAs in Poetry and Writing Popular Fiction. A Best of the Net, Pushcart Prize, and National Book Award nominee, she won honors in the Discovery / Nation Award and in the Rita Dove Poetry Prize. She’s also a Hedgebrook Residency alumna.
Ayers is the author of six previous full-length collections of poems, including: When All Else Fails (The Poetry Box, 2023); Red Riding Hood’s Real Life (Night Rain Press, 2017); Dance From Inside My Bones (Snake Nation Press, 2007), winner of the Hass Award; and Chicken Farmer I Still Love You (D-N Publishing, 2007), winner of their annual manuscript contest. Ayers is also the author of a romantic time travel adventure, Time Flash: Another Me, and is currently writing its sequel.
In addition to thriving in the book-loving culture, she enjoys the Oregon Coast’s bountiful rain and copious coffee shops. She lives with her marvelous husband and several sweet fur babies in a town famous for barking sea lions. A time travel enthusiast, she enjoys cryptograms and watches entirely too much Home & Garden television. Her favorite color is the swirl of Vincent van Gogh’s Starry Night.
Visit her online at:
LanaAyers.com
Paperback: 125 pages
Publisher: Kelsay Books (August 14, 2023)