Introducing this year’s Emerging Poet!

Since 2020, thanks to the generosity of an anonymous donor, Unbound has awarded an annual cash prize to celebrate the work of a promising poet at the start of their career. Every year, we look forward to introducing festival goers to another new and brilliant voice during their poetry reading. The Unbound Emerging Poet Award is a wonderful way to celebrate up-and-coming talent, and a great opportunity to hear some of the voices of the future.

We are thrilled to announce that this year’s award goes to m.s. RedCherries! We can’t wait to welcome her to the festival and look forward to her reading at Top Ten Wines at 3:15 p.m. on Saturday, April 19.

m.s. RedCherries received an MFA from the Iowa Writers’ Workshop and a JD from Arizona State University College of Law. She is a citizen of the Northern Cheyenne Nation. Her debut collection, mother (Penguin Books) was a finalist for the National Book Award.

See past Emerging Poet honorees at this link.