Olivia Gatwood

Olivia Gatwood is an American poet, novelist, screenwriter, and educator from Albuquerque, New Mexico. She is the author of the novel Whoever You Are, Honey (The Dial Press, 2024) and the poetry collections Life of the Party (The Dial Press, 2019) and New American Best Friend (Button Poetry, 2017). Gatwood also contributed to Woke: A Young Poet’s Call to Justice, alongside poets Mahogany L. Browne and Elizabeth Acevedo (Roaring Brook Press, 2020).

Her work has been published by Literary Hub, Muzzle Magazine, Winter Tangerine, Tinderbox Poetry Journal, and The Missouri Review, among others.

A graduate of Pratt Institute’s fiction program, Gatwood was a finalist at Womxn of the World Poetry Slam and the National Poetry Slam. Her performances have been featured in the Huffington Post and on HBO, MTV, VH1, and other outlets.

Gatwood and fellow poet Megan Falley created the interactive show “Speak Like a Girl,” a traveling poetry performance focusing on gender issues, body image, and other topics. The pair has performed in cities across the United States, including Chicago, New York, Los Angeles, and Detroit. Gatwood lives in California.