Ona Gritz

Ona Gritz writes memoir, essays, and poetry for adults, verse novels for teens, and fiction for children. Her new memoir, Everywhere I Look, won the Pencraft Best Book Award in Nonfiction - Memoir, the Readers’ Choice Gold Award for Best Adult Book, the Independent Author Award in New Nonfiction, the Independent Author Award in True Crime, and is an Independent Book Review 2024 Must-Read. Ona’s nonfiction has appeared widely, including in The New York Times, The Guardian, The Utne Reader, Brevity, Parents, The Rumpus, and River Teeth. Among her recent honors are two Notable mentions in The Best American Essays and a Best Life Story in Salon. Ona’s poetry collection Geode was a finalist for the Main Street Rag Poetry Book Award. She won The Poetry Archive Now: Wordview 2020 Project and has received many other honors for her poems. Ona’s 2023 novel for children, August Or Forever, was a Reader’s Choice and Wishing Shelf finalist in middle grade fiction. The Space You Left Behind, Ona’s first young adult novel, written in verse, has just been released from West 44 Books and featured in The Children's Book Council’s Hot Off the Press roundup of anticipated best sellers. Her second YA verse novel, Take a Sad Song, soon to be released from West 44 Books, earned a starred Kirkus review.