Writer
I’m delighted to share that my personal essay “Multitude of Hosts” appears in the new issue of Barnstorm Journal, from the University of New Hampshire. The piece begins as a meditation on the candle that sits by my side as I write and opens to a range of memories from my childhood across Bosnia and Spain. Huge thanks to the editors!
I’m excited to share that the spring issue of Crab Creek Review is out now!
After serving as guest fiction editor last year, I’ve stayed on with the journal as a fiction reader, and it was a joy to reflect on the submissions.
Our fiction theme, “Embodied Lives,” edited by Kirsten Sundberg Lunstrum, invited stories that explore how the body—its desires, limits, autonomy, and entanglement with power—shapes identity, perception, and connection. We were delighted to receive and discuss such thoughtful, compelling pieces.
Find copies of the issue on Submittable, and join our virtual launch on June 9 at 8:30 p.m. EDT.
My poem, “Through the Window,” appears in the new issue of South Carolina Review. I just received these beautiful contributor’s copies, which look jam-packed with great writing. Can’t wait to dive into the rest of the issue. Big, heartfelt thanks to Editor Elizabeth Stansell and her team! ❤️
Friends, my prose poem, “On the Lido Deck Before Sunrise,” appears in the new issue of Witness. I’m delighted the piece found such a wonderful home. Huge thanks to the editors!
I returned home from a conference to find my contributor’s copies of the 30th anniversary issue of Fourteen Hills. Just look at this cover! I’ve been writing prose poetry based on dreams these last couple of years, and I’m honored to have a recent piece in this volume. Thanks to the editors, who have been wonderfully attentive and thorough through the whole process. 
Can’t wait to explore the rest of the issue!
I’m grateful my poem “Bare Necessities” is included in A Flame Called Indiana, a new multi-genre anthology from Indiana University Press, alongside the work of a number of phenomenal writers who are also friends. I’m also thrilled to know that the book will be used as a course text for two Indiana University creative writing workshops this fall. The volume contains short fiction, essays, and poetry from writers who, at some point in their lives, had a strong connection to Indiana, and it is available for purchase anywhere books are sold.
I had a daydream that I wrote into a poem, and the lovely folks at The Louisville Review were kind enough to publish it. I just received my contributor’s copies. Big thanks to Amy Foos Kapoor and guest poetry editors Debra Kang Dean and Wanda Fries. ❤️ Can’t wait to explore the rest of the issue!
The lovely Crab Creek Review published my poem “Why Do Woodpeckers Peck” in their newest issue, and I’m delighted to announce that I’ll be reading this piece and a couple of others with several writers from the issue on June 1 at 9 p.m. EDT. The event is virtual and open to all. Join us if you can!
It was an honor last week to read my work at Slought in Philadelphia, with the Cheburashka Collective, in solidarity with Ukraine. Such well-being came from being around so many wonderful writers from Eastern Europe. I’m grateful that we had a pre-reading reception where we could connect and share stories. Thank you to the UPenn Comparative Literature, Jewish Studies, and Russian and East European Studies programs for making the evening possible!
Lana Spendl 