Note: In its Americanized form, Shunnarah is pronounced shuh-nahr-ruh. The Arabic transliteration of Mandy Shunnarah is ماندي شونارة

Professional bios:

Full bio:

Mandy Shunnarah (they/them) is an Alabama-born, Appalachian and Palestinian-American writer who now calls Columbus, Ohio, home. Their first book, Midwest Shreds: Skating Through America’s Heartland, was published by the Belt imprint of Arcadia Publishing in July 2024, and their second book, a poetry collection titled We Had Mansions, was published by Diode Editions in July 2025.

Their essays, poetry, short stories, and book reviews have been published in Electric Literature, The Rumpus, Black Warrior Review, AGNI, Porter House Review, Palette Poetry, Protean, The Offing, Crab Creek Review, Arc Poetry, Phoebe Journal, Beestung Journal, Channel Magazine, Exposition Review, HOAX Magazine, Sunlight Press, Apogee Journal, New Orleans Review, Orca Literary, Entropy Magazine, The Normal School, Mizna, The Other Side of Hope, The Citron Review, Mud Season Review, Ohio State’s The Journal, Yellow Arrow Journal, Lumiere Review, The Wild Hunt, Barely South Review, Heavy Feather Review, Doubleback Review, and others.

Mandy attended the Tin House and Kenyon Online Winter Workshops in 2025.

Additionally, Mandy has been published in several anthologies, including Heaven Looks Like Us, a Palestinian poetry anthology from Haymarket Books, and Ask the Night for a Dream: Palestinian Writing from the Diaspora, an anthology from Palestine Writes Press, as well as Through the Aftermath: A Post-Apocalyptic Anthology, and the academic text Gifted-ish: Women and Nonbinary Writers on Intelligence, Identity and Education.

They have received several Best of the Net and Pushcart nominations for their poetry, creative nonfiction, and short stories. Mandy’s poem “our people had mansions” won the Porter House Review 2024 Editor’s Prize in poetry, chosen by Kaveh Akbar, and their poem “ode to cows & clitorises” was a finalist for the 2024 Crab Creek Review Poetry Prize, chosen by Kelli Russell Agodon. They have received grants from the Ohio Arts Council, The Greater Columbus Arts Council, and the Sundress Academy for the Arts (SAFTA).

Learn more at mandyshunnarah.com.

Short bio:

Mandy Shunnarah (they/them) is an Alabama-born, Appalachian and Palestinian-American author who now calls Columbus, Ohio, home. Their essays, poetry, and short stories have been published in Electric Literature, The Rumpus, Black Warrior Review, and others. Their first book, Midwest Shreds: Skating Through America’s Heartland, was published in 2024 by Belt Publishing. Their second book, a poetry collection titled We Had Mansions, was published by Diode Editions in 2025. Read more at mandyshunnarah.com.

Resume and creative CV available upon request.

Professional photos:

I have two sets of professional photos. The first, by Simon Yao, features a white background and is more “professional.” The second, by Kateri Ang and Gabe Rosenberg, features varying backgrounds and includes playful poses. Use either or both, but please credit the photographers.

Click here for downloads of Simon Yao’s photos.

Click here for downloads of Kateri Ang and Gabe Rosenberg’s photos.

Galleries of both are below.