Rikki Santer has been awarded the 4th annual Paul Nemser Poetry Prize for her manuscript Shepherd’s Hour which will be published by Lily Poetry Review Books in March/April 2025.
Rikki Santer has earned honors that include Pushcart Prize and Ohioana Book Award nominations for her poetry. She also received individual artist grants from the Greater Columbus Arts Council and a fellowship from the National Endowment for the Humanities.
Two of Santer’s poetry collections investigate place: Front Nine (Kalupi Press, 2005), exploring the Hopewell earthworks of Newark, Ohio, and Kahiki Redux (11th Hour Press, 2016), on the late Kahiki Supper Club of Columbus, Ohio. Clothesline Logic was published by Pudding House (2009) and was a finalist in its national chapbook competition. Santer’s other published collections include Fishing for Rabbits (Kattywompus Press, 2013); Make Me That Happy (NightBallet Press, 2017); Dodge, Tuck, Roll (Poet’s Haven, 2018); In Pearl Broth, (Spartan Press, 2019); How to Board a Moving Ship (Lily Poetry Review Books, 2021); Drop Jaw, inspired by the art of ventriloquism (NightBallet Press, 2020); Head to Toe of It, a chapbook (Kelsay Books, 2021); and Stopover, inspired by the classic Twilight Zone series (Luchador Press, 2021).
Santer earned an MA in journalism from Kent State University and an MFA in creative writing from The Ohio State University. She is a member of the teaching artist roster of the Ohio Arts Council, a vice president of the Ohio Poetry Association, and a founding member of the poetry troupe Concrete Wink. She lives in Columbus, Ohio where she is the current Ohio Poet of the Year.