Andrew Demcak by Lemony Snicket’s (Daniel Handler) wife, Lisa Brown, 2015
Watercolor painting of Andrew Demcak by Arthur Johnstone, 2020
About me.
Andrew Demčák* is an American poet and novelist, the author of nine poetry collections and eight Young Adult novels. His books have been featured by The American Library Association, Verse Daily, The Lambda Literary Foundation, The Best American Poetry, Kirkus Reviews, and Poets & Writers. He was recently selected to be the keynote speaker at the California Library Association's annual conference to celebrate his contributions to LGBTQ+ Young Adult literature. He was also a finalist for the prestigious Dorset Poetry Prize, the Gloria E. AnzaldúaPoetry Prize, The Crazyhorse Poetry Award, and the Louise Bogan Award for Artistic Merit and Excellence in Poetry. He did win the Three Candles Press Open Book Award, selected by the phenomenal poet, Joan Larkin, for his first poetry collection, Catching Tigers in Red Weather (2007).
He has an M. F. A. in English/Creative Writing from St. Mary's College in Moraga, CA , where he studied with Robert Hass, Brenda Hillman, Michael Palmer, Carol Snow, Frank Bidart, Gary Snyder, Charles Wright, and Sharon Olds. He is also a member of the Squaw Valley Community of Writers, where he studied with Galway Kinnell, Richard Howard, Luci Tapahanso and Lucille Clifton. His poems, including Young Man With iPod (Poetry Midwest, #13), are taught at Ohio State University as part of both its English 110.02 class, "The Genius and the Madman," and in its "American Poetry Since 1945" class. At the age of 23, Andrew published his first chapbook, The Psalms (Big 23 Press), which was favorably reviewed by Dr. Clifton Snider in the Small Press Review (issue 226, vol. 23, no. 11.) His work has also been nominated for the [CLMP] Firecracker Award, Pushcart Prize, Lambda Award, Thom Gunn Poetry Award, both the California and Northern California Book Awards, Best of the Web, and others.
Andrew currently lives in a greener suburb of Los Angeles, CA with his husband, two parents, a few ghosts, and their three cats, Tommy, Charlie, and Stevie.
*"Andrew Demcak." Contemporary Authors, Gale, 2017. Literature Resource Center, go.galegroup.com. Accessed 27 May 2026.
