Press Kit

Really Short Bio: Shana Youngdahl is a poet, professor, and fiction writer. Shana loves helping people embrace the stories they need to tell. She teaches in Lindenwood University’s MFA program in Writing. Her debut novel As Many Nows As I Can Get (Dial/Penguin Teen) was a Kirkus Best Book of 2019, a 2020 RISE title from the American Library Association, and a New York Public Library top-ten book for teens. Connect with her online at www.shanayoungdahl.com, Twitter @shanayoungdahl or Instagram @shanayoungdahl

Short Bio: Shana Youngdahl is a poet, professor, and fiction writer. Shana loves helping people embrace the stories they need to tell. Educated at Mills College, The University of Minnesota, and the University of Maine Shana is an Associate Professor in the MFA in Writing Program at Lindenwood University. The author of several poetry chapbooks and two volumes of poems, most recently A Cage To Welcome (2023, SFASUPress) her debut novel As Many Nows As I Can Get, was a Kirkus Best Book of 2019, a 2020 RISE title from the American Library Association, and a New York Public Library top-ten book of 2019 (Dial/Penguin Teen). Her second novel is under contract with Dial/PenguinTeen. Connect with her online at www.shanayoungdahl.com, Twitter @shanayoungdahl or Instagram @shanayoungdahl

Long Bio: Shana Youngdahl is a poet, professor, and fiction writer originally from Paradise, California. Shana loves helping young people embrace the stories they need to tell. Her first writing workshop was at the California State Summer School for the Arts in high school (CSSSA). At CSSSA Shana first had the opportunity to work with other serious young artists. This experience galvanized her love of language and made her a stalwart supporter of positive creative communities.

Shana went on to earn a degree in English from Mills College and an MFA in poetry from The University of Minnesota. She’s held driver’s licenses in six states and currently teaches writing in Lindenwood University’s MFA in Writing program where she is an Associate Professor. Previously Shana taught at the University of Maine-Farmington, where she also directed the Longfellow Young Writers Workshop, and was involved actively in the writing community in Maine.

Shana always seeks to support creative communities. She is a member of SCBWI-KS-MO and The Saturday Writers. The author of several poetry chapbooks and two volumes of poems, most recently A Cage To Welcome (SFASUPRESS) her debut novel, As Many Nows As I Can Get, (Dial/Penguin Teen) was a Kirkus best book of 2019, a New York Public Library top-ten book of the year, and an Amelia Bloomer 2020 RISE title from the American Library Association. Shana has received fellowships from the American Antiquarian Society and the Iowa Arts Council. Connect with her online at www.shanayoungdahl.com, twitter @shanayoungdahl or instragram @shanayoungdahl