Draft:Jennifer Givhan

Jennifer Givhan
Jennifer ("Jenn") Givhan is a Mexican-American and Indigenous poet and novelist from the Southwestern United States. She is the author of five full-length poetry collections and three novels and a recipient of a National Endowment for the Arts fellowship and a PEN/Rosenthal Emerging Voices fellowship. Her novel Trinity Sight won The Southwest Book Award in 2020.

Personal Life
Givhan grew up on the Mexicali border in the Imperial Valley of Southern California, near the Salton Sea. She often writes about her "borderland identity" but broadens her narratives to resonate with anyone who has inhabited a liminal space between two cultures as Givhan grapples with both historical and personal pain from the past and demonstrates a yearning for a sense of belonging. She addresses "hijas wandering in their own deserts" to inspire and empower the women in the borderlands to and for whom she writes.

She holds an MFA from Warren Wilson College and an MA in English literature from California State University Fullerton. She lives with her family in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

Themes
Much of Givhan's poetry explores mother-daughter relationships, offering a broader and more inclusive understanding of motherhood that encompasses diverse caregiving roles. Her work addresses traditional definitions of motherhood, emphasizing empathy and intersectionality. Drawing from her Mexican heritage and family background, she incorporates cultural elements into her work. Givhan's poetry and prose often engage with social issues and highlight marginalized voices.

Select Bibliography

 * Salt Bones, Mulholland Books, 2025 (forthcoming).
 * Belly to the Brutal, Wesleyan University Press, 2022. 978-0819580979
 * River Woman, River Demon, Blackstone Publishing, 2022. ISBN: 978-1665057509
 * Regenerate: Prompts to Unlock Transformation, KDP Publishing, 2021. ISBN: 979-8519331180
 * Jubilee, Blackstone Publishing, 2020. ISBN: 978-1538556771
 * Trinity Sight, Blackstone Publishing, 2019. ISBN: 978-1538556726
 * Rosa’s Einstein, Camino del Sol Poetry Series: University of Arizona Press, 2019. ISBN: 978-0816538034
 * Girl with Death Mask, Blue Light Book Prize: Indiana Review Press, 2018. ISBN: 978-0-253-03279-9
 * Protection Spell, Miller Williams Poetry Prize Series: University of Arkansas Press, 2017. ISBN: 978-1-68226-028-9
 * Landscape with Headless Mama, Pleiades Editors’ Prize: LSU Press, 2016 ISBN: 9780807165416

Awards & Honors

 * Silver Medal in the International Latino Book Award’s Rudolfo Anaya Latino-Focused Fiction category, River Woman, River Demon, 2023
 * Spur Award Finalist, Western Writers of America, River Woman, River Demon, 2023
 * New Mexico-Arizona Book Awards Finalist in Suspense Fiction, River Woman, River Demon, 2022
 * Southwest Book Award chosen by Border Regional Library Associations, Trinity Sight, 2021
 * Honorable Mention for The Rudolfo Anaya Best Latino Focused Fiction Book Award category from the International Latino Book Awards Foundation, 2021
 * New Mexico-Arizona Book Awards Finalist in Literary Fiction, Jubilee, 2021
 * New Mexico-Arizona Book Awards Finalist in Fiction Adventure/Drama, New Mexico Historical Fiction, and Fantasy/Sci-Fi, Trinity Sight, 2021
 * New Mexico-Arizona Book Awards Finalist in New Mexico Poetry, Rosa’s Einstein, 2021
 * Women’s Caucus President, AWP, 2019-2021
 * Reading the West Book Award Finalist, Trinity Sight, Midwest Independent Booksellers, 2020
 * Pulitzer Prize nomination, Jubilee, Blackstone Press, 2020
 * Pulitzer Prize nomination, Trinity Sight, Blackstone Press, 2019
 * New Ohio Review Poetry Prize chosen by Tyehimba Jess, 2019
 * Joy Harjo Poetry Prize, Cutthroat Journal, 2018
 * Blue Light Book Prize chosen by Ross Gay, Indiana University Press: Girl with Death Mask, 2018
 * Greg Grummer Poetry Prize chosen by Monica Youn, Phoebe Journal, 2017
 * Pleiades Editors’ Prize, LSU Press: Landscape with Headless Mama, 2016
 * National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship in Poetry, 2015
 * Best of the Net, “If the Jornada del Muerto* had a windpipe,” 2015
 * Lascaux Review Poetry Prize, 2015
 * Best New Poets Anthology, “Karaoke Night at the Asylum,” 2015
 * The Pinch Literary Award in Poetry chosen by Ada Limón, 2015
 * The Frost Place Latinx Scholarship, 2015
 * PEN Center/Rosenthal Emerging Voices Fellowship, 2010