Here is my about page, here is my press page, & here is my Wikipedia page. My love letters & books (& other published ephemera) are the best way to get to know my work. Please do email me at topazwinters@gmail.com if you have further questions (but get in touch at least several weeks in advance of your deadline, as it’s difficult for me to respond promptly to these emails!).

I don’t have a literary or artistic agent, but I’m always open to speaking with agencies interested in representing my work. If that sounds like you, feel free to contact me at topazwinters@gmail.com & I’ll get back to you as soon as possible.

These days it’s difficult for me to make time to both write my own work & critique everything that comes into my inbox. So, unless we know each other personally, please give the Muse my best regards & look elsewhere. I’m honoured that you thought of me, but unfortunately, I must sleep.

If you’re very interested in my eyes, please drop me an email to enquire about professional critique rates, at topazwinters@gmail.com. I would love to discuss working with you.

I have depression, anxiety, obsessive-compulsive disorder, dissociative amnesia, & hyperacusis. You can find the essays & poems I’ve written about illness in my love letters, & in the books poems for the sound of the sky before thunder & Portrait of My Body As a Crime I’m Still Committing. While I try to be candid in my work about my personal experience with disability, I am not a licensed professional & cannot provide medical advice—so if you’re in a crisis, please call a free, anonymous helpline or make an appointment with your local therapist. I promise you are worth every battle you could possibly fight.

My dog is called Hachiko, he is a Japanese Spitz, & he is 14 years old. My cat is called Volta, she is a Bengal/Domestic Shorthair mix, & she is six years old. They love you.

I graduated from Princeton University in 2023, majoring in English Literature & triple-minoring in Creative Writing, Visual Art, & Italian.

Read everything. Write everything. Keep a journal. Collect plane & film tickets. Understand the experiences of those less privileged & those more privileged than you are. Watch snails. Make up stories about people on the subway. Copy your heroes & don’t be afraid when you surpass them. Be someone else’s hero & don’t be afraid when they surpass you. Watch for patterns. Keep things. Throw things away. Find beauty in ugliness. Follow the cats & the ghosts. Take long walks. Glue things together. Pull things apart. Critique others’ work (with their consent!). Ask others to critique your work. Be patient. Read things that make you feel deeply uncomfortable & examine your discomfort. Read things that make you feel unfathomably whole & examine your wholeness. Look up. Try foods you do not enjoy. Eviscerate poems. Take long baths. Don’t be an asshole. Put words together that you don’t understand. Read everything. Write everything. Read everything. Write everything. Read everything. Write everything. Listen for more.

Here is my cover letter template when submitting to literary journals! Feel free to use & adapt for your own purposes, no credit or notification necessary:

Dear Journal editors,

My name is Name. I’m submitting X number of pieces for consideration in Journal. The titles are A, B, & C.

I found Journal via Twitter / because my poet friend wouldn’t stop raving about you / through a tiny dragon that appeared in my ice cream screaming the name of your journal / (fill in a sentence about however you found them). I especially love Piece the Journal Has Published / the way you handled Recent Awkward Controversy / your focus on This Issue I Really Care About / (fill in a reason why you’re submitting to them).

As requested, my third-person bio / author photo / artist statement / content warnings / first born child are below (fill in any extra information their submission guidelines request).

Thank you for your consideration! I look forward to hearing from you.

Yours,
Name

Certainly; more information here.

Seven! On my left arm is the moon tarot card, & on my right arm is the sun tarot card, both from the Rider-Waite deck. Across the right side of my chest is the text “for here there is no place that does not see you. You must change your life,” from Rainer Maria Rilke’s poem “Archaic Torso of Apollo.” All were done by Drexyll at Blackfish Tattoo. On my sternum is a goldfinch surrounded by tulips by Erika at Confessions New York. On my left thigh is a dagger inlaid with a honeybee by Dwayne at Central Tattoo Studio. On my left arm is a bramble of blackberries by Alejandra at Scrimshaw Tattoo. On my right calf is a door intertwined with roses by Barry at Unloveable New York.

I do not read manuscripts or recommend authors to my publisher upon request. However, Button Poetry has been an absolute dream to work with. They hold annual chapbook contests & are doing brilliant, necessary work in the literary world & beyond, & I highly encourage submissions!

Honestly? I just started. Which I realise is entirely unhelpful, but I don’t know if I have anything better to tell you. I started, & I sang, & I made, & I failed, & I pushed, & I moved, & I spoke, & somewhere along the line, someone started listening.

In order of proficiency: English, Italian, & Mandarin Chinese.

I try to answer every email, but I receive quite a few & find it difficult to keep up, so please don’t be hurt if I haven’t responded after a few weeks. I promise it isn’t because I hate you, just because I try to maintain a life outside of the Internet.

Most certainly. I flit between New York City & Singapore, but I also tour often & love saying hello to readers. That said, I do have multiple anxiety & sensory disorders, & it can be nervewracking when strangers speak to me. I would very much appreciate it if you didn’t shout.

Also, please don’t take photographs of me without my permission in public—that is rude & violating. I promise I’m open for a selfie if you ask.