about

Rio Cortez is a poet and the New York Times bestselling author of picture books The ABCs of Black History, The River Is My Ocean, and The Blue Velvet Chair. Her debut poetry collection, Golden Ax, was longlisted for the 2022 National Book Award for Poetry, the Pen America Open Book Award, and the Norma Farber First Book Award. Her writing has been Pushcart-nominated and published in The New Yorker, The Atlantic, The Miami Rail, and various other publications. 

Born and raised in Salt Lake City, she now lives, writes, and works in Harlem.

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