Vickie Vértiz was born and raised in southeast Los Angeles. Her writing can be found in The Volta, Huizache, the Los Angeles Review of Books, The Offing, and Nepantla. Her latest collection of poetry was the runner up for the Andres Montoya book prize in 2016. A graduate of Williams College, U.T. Austin, and U.C. Riverside, Vértiz teaches creative writing all over the country and works with 826LA.