# Emily Wittenhagen

> Emily Wittenhagen is a writer, poet, and editor living in Maine. She writes poetry, personal essays and journalism, and works as a developmental editor, copy editor and proofreader. Her recent work has appeared in Okay Donkey, Deep Overstock, The Champagne Room, MUTHA Magazine and Anodyne Magazine.

Emily Wittenhagen is a writer, poet, editor based in Maine, United States. She studied Creative Writing at the University of Maine at Farmington, where she received an Excellence in Poetry award. In Seattle (2008–2020) she worked at Richard Hugo House and co-founded HOARSE, a literary journal shortlisted for The Stranger's Genius Award. Her favorite forms are poetry, essay, journalism and audio storytelling. She calls her short poems "pomes"; "Sandy" is a nickname she has used as a pen name, but her work is published as Emily Wittenhagen.

## Honors and awards

- Best of the Net nominee, for "Blue Persons" (Okay Donkey, 2026)
- Excellence in Poetry award (University of Maine at Farmington)

## Key pages

- [Poetry](https://emilywittenhagen.com/poetry/): her published poems
- [Portfolio](https://emilywittenhagen.com/portfolio/): every publication and editing project, with links
- [About](https://emilywittenhagen.com/about/): biography
- [Updates](https://emilywittenhagen.com/updates/): news about new publications
- [Publications as JSON](https://emilywittenhagen.com/publications.json): the same portfolio as structured data

## Published writing (newest first)

- "Blue Persons", poetry, in Okay Donkey (August 2025). Best of the Net nominee. https://okaydonkeymag.com/2025/08/15/blue-persons-by-emily-wittenhagen/
- "Ewok Village", essay, in Deep Overstock Issue 26: Soups & Stews (January 2025). https://deepoverstock.com/product/do26-soups-stews/
- "Blue Tab", poetry, in The Champagne Room Issue 04 (Winter 2024–2025). https://web.archive.org/web/20250323130840/https://www.thechampagneroomjournal.com/product-page/the-champagne-room-issue-04
- "Jazz Solo: Navigating the Muddy Waters of Miscarriage", essay, in MUTHA Magazine (November 2024). https://www.muthamagazine.com/2024/11/jazz-solo/
- "Blue Field", poetry, in Anodyne Magazine Vol 3 (June 2024). https://anodynemag.com/vol3/
- Micah & The Worry Stone (2024): Co-Author, Children's Book. https://ourrootsup.com/micah/
- pomes (2024): Author, Poetry
- Three Moon Collective (2019–2021): Author, Designer, Blog Posts, Monthly Guides, Social Media. https://web.archive.org/web/20221006114552/https://threemooncollective.com/
- "Lady Liberty: Inside the Heart of the Runaway", article, in The Filson Journal (2017). https://web.archive.org/web/20241113192822/https://www.filson.com/blog/profiles/lady-liberty/
- Seattle Foundation (2015): Author, Articles. https://drive.google.com/file/d/18gwskNhtHvQHb5WnxtXlS-5dCKf240BW/view?usp=sharing
- "From The Barchives", column, in NW Lawyer Magazine (2015 | 6 editions). https://wabarnews.org/?s=wittenhagen
- "BODY", poetry, in THERMOS (2011). https://thermosmag.wordpress.com/2011/03/28/three-seattle-poets-pt-1-emily-wittenhagen/
- Richard Hugo House (2008): Author, Press Releases. https://drive.google.com/file/d/1OKuG1yRdFVQXHcceiBgv_oCAOcTRtdrU/view?usp=sharing
- "The W, The Whale", poetry, in Sandy River Review (Fall 2006). https://sandyriverreview.com/
- "The Way to Barcelona", poetry, in Sandy River Review (Spring 2006). https://sandyriverreview.com/

## Editing work (newest first)

- Our Prison Story by Multiple Authors (2021): Developmental Editor, Line Editor, Copy Editor, Full-Length Book. https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/58728838-our-prison-story
- Naturopathic Business Basics (2019): Developmental Editor, Line Editor, Copy Editor, Full-Length Book. https://www.amazon.com/Naturopathic-Business-Basics-Step-Step/dp/0692953817
- Heart of the Runaway by Liberty Elias Miller (2018): Developmental Editor, Line Editor, Copy Editor, Full-Length Book. https://www.amazon.com/Heart-Runaway-Liberty-Elias-Miller/dp/1981444505
- fragile by Jeffrey Thomson (2015): Copy Editor, Proofreader, Memoir. https://web.archive.org/web/20250428093402/https://www.jeffreythomson.net/fragile
- The Madness Vase by Andrea Gibson (2015): Copy Editor, Proofreader, Poetry Collection. https://writebloody.com/products/the-madness-vase
- Reasons to Leave the Slaughter by Ben Clark (2015): Copy Editor, Proofreader, Poetry Collection. https://writebloody.com/products/reasons-to-leave-the-slaughter-by-ben-clark
- Write About an Empty Birdcage by Elaina M. Ellis (2015): Copy Editor, Proofreader, Poetry Collection. https://writebloody.com/products/write-about-an-empty-birdcage
- The Writer's Ally (2014–2017): Ghostwriter, Copy Editor, Proofreader. https://thewritersally.com/
- HOARSE Vol 6: Undercover (2012): Editor, Lit Journal. https://web.archive.org/web/20130413045928/http://hoarsey.tumblr.com/
- HOARSE Vol 5: Professor (2012): Editor, Lit Journal. https://web.archive.org/web/20130413045928/http://hoarsey.tumblr.com/
- HOARSE Vol 4: Field Day (2012): Editor, Lit Journal. https://web.archive.org/web/20130413045928/http://hoarsey.tumblr.com/
- HOARSE Vol 3: Houdini (2011): Editor, Lit Journal. https://web.archive.org/web/20130413045928/http://hoarsey.tumblr.com/
- HOARSE Vol 2: Cape Canaveral (2011): Editor, Lit Journal. https://web.archive.org/web/20110410190814/http://hoarsey.tumblr.com/tagged/Cape_Canaveral
- HOARSE Vol 1: Pool Party (2011): Editor, Lit Journal. https://web.archive.org/web/20130413045928/http://hoarsey.tumblr.com/

## Updates

- [My pome 'Blue Persons' was nominated for Best of the Net](https://emilywittenhagen.com/best-of-the-net-nomination/) (September 28, 2026): I'm thrilled to announce that my poem 'Blue Persons' was nominated by Okay Donkey for the Best of the Net.
- [My essay 'Jazz Solo' is now live on MUTHA](https://emilywittenhagen.com/jazz-solo-published-in-mutha-magazine/) (December 3, 2024): My piece about my experience and grieving during a miscarriage has been published on the MUTHA blog.
- [The Heart of the Runaway: an Article, a Book, a Friendship](https://emilywittenhagen.com/heart-of-the-runaway/) (November 18, 2024): Filson commissioned this profile piece on Liberty Miller, who at the time worked as the only year-round live-aboard for the Boat Company, an adventure that led to me editing her memoir.
- [pomes, a short poem collection, is done!](https://emilywittenhagen.com/my-pomes-compilation-is-done/) (October 28, 2024): My wee short poems are now in compilation form!
- [Micah & The Worry Stone, a co-authored children's book, is out!](https://emilywittenhagen.com/micah-and-the-worry-stone/) (September 18, 2024): Micah & the Worry Stone is a children's book about courage, co-authored by Julie Campilio and me and illustrated by the talented Kara Larson. We'd love you to share it with the children in your life!
- [Retrospective on Seattle's HOARSE journal](https://emilywittenhagen.com/retrospective-on-seattle-s-hoarse-poetry-journal/) (September 9, 2024): HOARSE was a lit journal co-edited with Elena Moffet, lovingly designed by Gregory Flores, and founded by the three of us in Seattle. We had really fun parties.
- [My pome 'Blue Field' published in Anodyne Magazine](https://emilywittenhagen.com/my-poem-blue-field-published-in-anodyne-magazone/) (August 12, 2024): My poem 'Blue Field' was published in Anodyne Magazine, a Berlin-based trimesterly magazine giving voices to FLINTA (womyn/females, lesbians, intersex, non-binary, trans + agender people).
- [Exploring the Barchives](https://emilywittenhagen.com/diving-into-the-barchives/) (December 3, 2015): My adventure in mining through 125 years of archival materials to produce a column for NW Lawyer magazine.

## Elsewhere

- https://www.instagram.com/_breezykitchen_/
- https://bsky.app/profile/emilywittenhagen.bsky.social
- https://www.linkedin.com/in/emily-wittenhagen-4425a02a/