Tess Barry is a native of Western Pennsylvania and lives in Pittsburgh. She holds an MA in English from the University of Pittsburgh and an MFA in Creative Writing/Poetry, from Carlow University (a dual-residency program in the U.S. and Ireland). Barry was shortlisted for the 2015 Manchester Poetry Prize (UK). Twice a finalist for North American Review's James Hearst Poetry Prize and Aesthetica Magazine's (UK) Poetry Award, she also was shortlisted for the 2020, 2018 and 2014 Bridport Poetry Prize (UK). Most recently, her poems appeared in or are forthcoming in And Other Poems (UK), Backstory (Australia), The Compass Magazine (UK), Cordella Magazine, Cordite Poetry Review (Australia), F(r)iction Lit, HeadStuff.org (Ireland), Mslexia (UK), Mudfish, Other Terrain Journal (Australia), The Pickled Body (Ireland), Pittsburgh Poetry Review, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, The Stinging Fly (Ireland), The Woven Tale Press Literary and Arts Magazine, and online at the Manchester Writing School's (UK) website. Recent prose is available online at North American Review where she has been a featured blogger. Barry is a Fellow of the Western Pennsylvania Writing Project and longtime member of Carlow University's Madwomen in the Attic writing workshops. She teaches creative writing and poetry at Carlow University in Pittsburgh and is Director of Carlow University's MFA in Creative Writing Program.