Tanya Olson holds an M.A. in Anglo-Irish Literature from University College, Dublin and a Ph.D. in 20th Century British Literature from UNC-Greensboro. Her first book, BOYISHLY, was released by YesYes Books in May 2013. Her work has been published in Boston Review, Beloit Poetry Review, Southword, PANK, Cairn, Fanzine, Bad Subjects, Main Street Rag, Pedestal Magazine, Elysian Fields, and Southern Cultures. Olson won first place in the 2005 Independent Poetry contest and was a runner up for the 2009 Rita Dove Award. She is a recipient of an Emerging Artist Grant from the Durham Arts Council and was the 2008 Fortner Award winner. In 2010, she won a Discovery/Boston Review prize and was named a 2011 Lambda Fellow by the Lambda Literary Foundation. She helps co-ordinate Durham's Third Friday, is a member of the Black Socks poetry group, and serves on the board of the Carolina Wren Press. She lives in Durham, North Carolina and teaches at Vance-Granville Community College.