MAYA (celia) OWEN

Her poems have been nominated for the Pushcart Prize and Best of the Net anthologies, longlisted for Palette Poetry’s Emerging Poet Prize, Foundlings Press’ Ralph Angel Poetry Prize (selected by Mary Ruefle), and highlighted in Frontier Poetry’s list of Exceptional Poetry From Around the Web. She has worked as a reader for various literary journals, lead poetry workshops online, and performed at events around the UK. She is currently working on two poetry pamphlets, one of which was recently longlisted for publication by Dithering Chaps.

She also writes playscripts and screenplays, constructing a queer-feminist magic realism that centres fabulous creatures and monstered others. She has recently been selected by CRIPTtic Arts as one of five emerging UK-based disabled writers and theatremakers to develop the script for a full-length show through a four-month development programme. Two of her short plays, YOU DON’T HAVE TO STAY HERE BUT YOU CAN’T GO HOME and SPREAD have been/will be produced, respectively, as part of KDC Theatre‘s New Writing Competition and for UntoldCollectiv‘s Short & Mighty programme, and she developed and performed her original act WET WORK as part of Carnesky’s Radical Cabaret School showcase at Tramshed and again at Club Silly.

She makes art pop for outsiders as Maya Celia, and is currently working on her first singles with Iona Catherine Productions.

If you meet her at a party, she will tell you she is Mad, gay, Jewish, and once broke into the British Museum inside a wooden horse. She hopes one day to see a whale in real life.