Erin Malone
Bainbridge Island welcomes its second Poet Laureate!
Erin Malone succeeds inaugural Bainbridge Island Poet Laureate Michele Bombardier, who served from 2023 – 2025. Erin is the author of Site of Disappearance, a finalist for the National Poetry Series (Ornithopter Press, 2023), Hover (Tebot Bach, 2015), and a chapbook, What Sound Does It Make (Concrete Wolf, 2008). Born in New Mexico and raised in Nebraska and Colorado, she earned an MFA in creative writing from the University of Washington. For many years she’s taught in community spaces as well as at elementary schools and universities. Erin and her family now live on Bainbridge Island.
Former Editor of Poetry Northwest, Erin’s honors include the Coniston Prize from Radar Poetry and the Robert Creeley Memorial Prize from Marsh Hawk Press. She has received grants and fellowships from Washington State Artist Trust, 4Culture, Jack Straw, and the Colorado Council on the Arts, plus residency support from Kimmel-Harding Nelson Center, The Anderson Center, Ucross, Jentel, and Monson Arts. Her poems have appeared in Epoch, FIELD, New Ohio Review, Salamander, Cimarron, Beloit Poetry Journal, and elsewhere.
Our Poet Laureate Emeritus, Michele Bombardier, will stay on as a consultant and poetry rabble-rouser!
Photos: Erin Malone at December 9, 2025 City Council confirmation. Photo by Mandi May
Michele Bombardier in the 2025 Bainbridge Island Grand Old Fourth Parade. Courtesy photo.
Michele Bombardier (2022-2025)
Michele Bombardier is the author of What We Do, a Washington Book Award finalist. Michele's poetry has been published in well over a hundred literary journals and anthologies. She’s the winner of the 2024 NORward Prize from New Ohio Review. She holds an MFA from Pacific University and is the founder of Fishplate Poetry, leading workshops and retreats while raising money for humanitarian aid. Michele is a Hedgebrook fellow and a renown speaker and teacher. Her poetry centers on connection, resiliency, and seeking wonder in an often chaotic world.
