Life of the Party

Olivia Gatwood has received national recognition for her poetry, writing workshops, and work as an educator in sexual assault prevention and recovery. She is the author of the poetry chapbook New American Best Friend, and her poems have appeared in such publications as Muzzle, Winter Tangerine, Poetry City, Tinderbox Poetry Journal, and The Missouri Review. As a finalist at Brave New Voices, Women of the World Poetry Slam, and the National Poetry Slam, Gatwood has been featured on HBO, HuffPost, MTV, VH1, and the BBC, among other media outlets. She is a full-time touring artist, and has performed at more than two hundred schools and universities worldwide.

From Penguin Random House

Olivia Gatwood was born in Albuquerque, New Mexico in 1992 and currently lives in Santa Cruz, CA. She was a finalist at Brave New Voices, Women of the World and the National Poetry Slam. Her performances have been featured on HBO, Huffington Post, MTV, VH1, and BBC among others. Her work has been featured in Muzzle Magazine, The Winter Tangerine Review, Poetry City U.S.A., Tinderbox Poetry Journal, and The Missouri Review.

Gatwood is the author of two poetry collections, New American Best Friend (2017) and Life of the Party (2019). She also contributed to Woke: A Young Poet's Call to Justice (2020, with Mahogany L. Browne and Elizabeth Acevedo). Her first novel, Whoever You Are, Honey, is set to be released by The Dial Press at Random House in early 2022.

Author website: OliviaGatwood.com

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