Photo credit Herb Sosa

Mia S. Willis (they/them) is a 23-year-old African American artist and adventurer from Charlotte, North Carolina. Mia is a recipient of the 2018 Foothill Editors’ Prize for their poem “hecatomb,” which was also nominated for a Pushcart Prize. Their work has been showcased by WORDPEACE, Foothill: a Journal of Poetry, Button Poetry and Slamfind. In 2018, Mia ranked fourth out of 96 femme poets at the Women of the World Poetry Slam, placed fifth out of 150 poets at the Southern Fried Regional Poetry Slam, and won the Capturing Fire Slam.

They were also a member of Tender Bitch, the winning poetry performance team at the 2018 Feminine Empowerment Movement Slam Tournament. Mia's debut poetry collection, “monster house.”, was the 2018 winner of the Cave Canem Foundation's Toi Derricotte & Cornelius Eady Chapbook Prize and will be published by Jai-Alai Books in April 2019. Presented by O, Miami Poetry Festival.