Samiya Bashir is the author of Gospel, forthcoming in March 2009 from RedBone Press, and Where the Apple Falls, a finalist for the Lambda Literary Award. Samiya's newest book of poetry,

Samiya is the editor of two groundbreaking anthologies: Best Black Women’s Erotica 2 and co-editor, with Tony Medina and Quraysh Ali Lansana, of Role Call: A Generational Anthology of Social & Political Black Literature & Art. She has also published two chapbook poetry collections: Wearing Shorts on the First Day of Spring & American Visa.

Her poetry, stories, articles, essays and editorial work have been featured in numerous publications including: Bum Rush the Page: A Def Poetry Jam, Other Countries: Voices Rising, Callaloo, Reverie, Carry the Word, Essence, Obsidian III, Cave Canem #7, Poetry For The People: A Revolutionary Blueprint, Contemporary American Women Poets, Best Lesbian Erotica 03, The San Francisco Bay Guardian, Ms. Magazine, Black Issues Book Review, Curve, Vibe, Seventeen, XXL, Lambda Book Report, The American Journal of Public Health.

Bashir is a fellow with Cave Canem and a founding organizer of Fire & Ink, a writer’s festival for LGBT writers of African descent. She is currently an Artist in Residence with The Austin Project.

Her work has been reprinted internationally and she has read her poetry to audiences across the U.S. and in Europe. Follow her art and commentary online at Scryptkeeper. In 2008, Samiya was an artist with Pënz (it's pronounced pants) a year-long, daily group art blog she shares with Senalka McDonald, Wura-Natasha Ogunji, and Ana-Maurine Lara. See what all the fuss was all about and get addicted to Pënz!