I’m Emily. Hi. I’m a writer, a wonderer, a starer into space, and a shameless partaker in delights. I am not a proficient roller skater, a fan of pastels, or an expert at anything.

I have been honored to have my poems selected as:

Poem of the Month at ONLY POEMS, November 2025,

winner of:

• Reed Magazine’s 2026 Edwin Markham Poetry Prize,

• Peatsmoke Journal’s 2025 Summer Editor’s Contest,

• the 2022 Ellen Conroy Kennedy Poetry Contest,

runner-up for Hunger Mountain’s 2024 Ruth Stone Poetry Prize,

finalist in:

• the 2026 Plentitudes Prizes in Poetry

• the 2026 American Literary Review Awards in Poetry

• the 2026 Witness Literary Awards

• the 2025 Pinch Literary Awards in Poetry

• Naugatuck River Review’s 17th Annual Narrative Poetry Contest

• Breakwater Review’s 2025 Peseroff Prize in Poetry

• the 2024 Muriel Craft Bailey Poetry Contest

• the 2024 Milton Kessler Memorial Prize for Poetry

• the 2024 Sand Hills Poetry Contest

• the 2023 Sublingua Prize for Poetry

• the 2022-2023 Tennessee Williams SAS Poetry Contest

• the 2022 Poetry International Prize,

special mention for New Ohio Review’s 2026 Ellis Prize in Poetry,

semi-finalist in:

• the 2025 Crab Creek Review Poetry Prize

• the 2024 Red Wheelbarrow Poetry Prize,

and honorable mention for Writer’s Digest’s 2025 Annual Writing Competition.

Venice, Italy Photo Credit: Emily Portillo