From Wisconsin, by way of the East Coast, Dell now lives in and draws inspiration from Arizona’s Sonoran Desert. They received a BA in creative writing and material culture from Hampshire College; and then an MFA in Creative Writing with coursework in printmaking and book arts, and a graduate certificate in Nonprofit Leadership and Management from Arizona State University. They have been an editor for Hayden’s Ferry Review, Four Way Books, and the Imagination and Climate Futures Initiative, and a Press and Research Assistant for Pyracantha Press. For ten years, they led classes, conferences, residencies, and literary programming for the Virginia G. Piper Center for Creative Writing. With a background in poetry, fiction, creative nonfiction, film, library studies, climate writing, and education, they have over 20 years of experience in arts and community organizing.
In their presswork, they specialize in handmade books and storytelling, using sustainable processes, playful materials, odd structures, traditional letterpress techniques, and multi-sensory stimulation to fuse artistic styles and surprise the reader. They especially enjoy collaborative projects—like custom artists’ books, chapbook covers, and interactive texts—sharing with other creatives to mix mediums and explore what the book can do.
Angie Dell (they/them) is a queer and nonbinary artist, writer, teacher, and arts organizer who primarily works in letterpress and book art mediums. They make books, zines, poetry broadsides, and other literary objects, and their work has been shown in journals, collections, libraries, and galleries across the United States and abroad.
Dell runs Shut Eye Press, co-organizes Phoenix’s Paper Jam + Print collaborative print studio, and serves on the board and as the Vice Chair of Membership for CBAA, the Association for Book Art Education. They teach classes in creative writing, visual storytelling, and bookmaking techniques to people of all ages.
