About

editor in cheifBRI BRUCE (writing as B. L. Bruce) holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in post-modern literature and creative writing from the University of California at Santa Cruz with post-graduate work with UC Berkeley’s professional editing program.

An award-winning author, photographer, publisher, and freelance graphic designer, Bruce’s work has appeared in dozens of anthologies, magazines, and literary publications, including The Sun Magazine, Tattoo Highway, Ampersand, Red Fez Entertainment, The Cossack, The Avocet Review, Atom Magazine, Northwind Magazine, The Soundings Review, and The Monterey Poetry Review, and is a widely published haikuist with work in the American Haiku Society’s Frogpond Journal, Modern Haiku, seashores, Akitsu Quarterly, folk ku, and many others.

Bruce was named Featured Poet of Homebound Publications’ holiday issue of The Wayfarer (Vol. 2, Issue 4, Dec. 2013) followed by the inclusion of seven of her poems in the Poems from Conflicted Hearts anthology alongside Poet Laureate Alice Shapiro. In addition to receiving the Ina Coolbrith Memorial Poetry Prize, Bruce was also the recipient of PushPen Press’s Pendant Prize for Poetry for her haiku series published in THREE with Poet Laureate Erica Goss. In 2023, she was the winner of the Los Gatos Poetry Contest for her piece “Once Each Year,” awarded by town poet laureate Jen Siriganian.

A two-time Pushcart Prize nominee and three-time award-winning author, Bruce’s debut collection, The Weight of Snow: New & Selected Poems, published February 2014 by Black Swift Press, earned her the nickname “the heiress of Mary Oliver.” Her second book, 28 Days of Solitude (Back Swift Press, August 2015) was written entirely during her four-week residency in the remote forests of Northern California. Also written during this stay, her chapbook, The Starling’s Song, published April 1st, 2016, was selected as the Honorable Mention of the 2017 Pacific Rim Book Festival in the poetry category. Measures, her third collection of poetry, was released in 2021. Blue California Sky, her fifth book, was published in 2024 with glowing reviews and is available from Finishing Line Press.

From 2016 to 2020, Bruce helped produce an award-winning nature adventure documentary film about Baja California called “The Devil’s Road.”

During the coronavirus shelter-in-place implications, she founded and is editor-in-chief of Humana Obscura, an online and print literary magazine publishing poetry, prose, and artwork with a nature theme.

She was featured on the cover of the June 2020 issue of Books & Buzz Magazine where she talks her shameless bibliophilia, her experience in book design, and her current projects: “How graphic designer Bri Bruce brings beauty to books” (Books & Buzz Magazine, June 2020)

Check out her feature at Shepherd, and her list of best contemporary nature poetry books: https://shepherd.com/best-books/contemporary-nature-poetry

See her recent interview with Brummet Media on her writing process, inspiration, and work: “World of Writing: Poet Interview”

Specializing in all things books and print and digital media, Bri’s professional work has given her the opportunity to work with authors, academics, non-profits, and small businesses, offering writing/editing, graphic design, publishing, and photography services.

Connect on LinkedIn, Goodreads, Twitter and Instagram!

AVAILABLE FOR HIRE

I provide graphic design (book covers, advertisements, logos, marketing collateral, etc.), book publishing and consultation, and photography services.

Portfolio available upon request.

Read testimonials here.

Read complete CV here.

639 thoughts on “About”

  1. Hello, Bri, Thank you for following me on healingforhearts. I am still quite a novice when it comes to writing and am honored that you consider me to be worth your attention. I will have fun exploring your site. Blessings. Hannah

    Reply

  2. Hi there, just dropped by to say thanks for visiting and following my blog. Call again soon and in the meantime I’ll have a snuffle around yours 🙂

    Reply

      1. Sure! I’ll have to reread it to have some fresh thoughts but thats not a problem. I’m approaching a point where I need to re-organize my blog so I’ll keep book/blog endorsement/links section in mind.

    1. Thank you so much! I really appreciate it 🙂 I’d love it if you’d provide a short review on Amazon when you’re finished with it.

      Thanks for stopping by and taking an interest. Best to you!

      Reply

  11. Hello Bri–thanks for visiting my blog, and following me. I am looking forward to getting better acquainted with you and your work. Your intro page looks lovely and I will enjoy reading some of YOUR posts. Please visit my blog again. I’m open to tips and feedback on my articles! Would value your thoughts sometime.
    blessings, Linda

    Reply

  12. Nice. Saw there is a kindle version. Just downloaded your new poems, and look forward to them for the next couple days. Glad you dropped by darkecologies 🙂

    Reply

      1. Just read the first poem and already digging it. It’s like me a little country, a little sophisticate: and, all blues way down into that snow. 🙂

        I’ll do a essay after I finish on it and update the amazon.com site and my own blog with a post link. Good luck, it’s empowering work!

  14. Thank you so much for following my blog. 🙂 I read some of your poems here and they are very lovely. Looking forward to reading more from you. 🙂

    Reply

  15. Thank you very much for the follow at, “Through The Cracked Window”, I truly appreciate your support. -Stephen

    Reply

  16. Hi there! Thank you so much for following my blog. I am not a very great writer, though writing is something I love. I feel honoured that my blog was worthy of your attention. Congratulations on the success of your book! 😀 I shall try to read it as soon as possible. Nice to meet you x

    Reply

  17. Thank you for following my blog freestylerevolution.wordpress.com.
    Congratulations on your book! 😀

    Reply

  20. HI
    Thanks for following by Blog.. It truly elates me to be followed by someone as skilled and talented as you 🙂
    Will definitely be browsing around your blog for more inspiration 🙂

    Thanks,
    Ankita

    Reply

  23. Thank you for following my blog, fellow writer 🙂 I’m looking forward to find out about your blog as well.

    Reply

  25. Hello Bri,
    Thank you for coming to peek at my blog! Appreciate the visit. HHHHMMM….Publishing is your forte? I just might have a client that may need your help with story ready of KDP format & Upload??? I’ll see if I find your email here. If not, shoot me one, maybe we can Network a bit 2gether 🙂
    LyonMedia@aol.com OH, … Love your blog!

    Author, Cat Lyon 🙂

    Reply

      1. Sounds Good! I’ll get you a little info emailed later today, or first thing in the morning! God Bless, Cat

  27. Thank you so much for following my blog, and thank you for not pointing out grammatical, punctuation and other glaring errors. I hope you continue to read an enjoy. I am following you now, I am sure I can learn something!

    Reply

  28. Hi Bri, thanks for visiting and following my blog. California really is an evocative place – the redwoods are just amazing, as are the sunsets. I can imagine how such an environment would inspire poetry.

    Reply

  30. Hi,
    Thank you very much for visiting fitness wellness world and connecting. Nice to connect with a fellow traveller … and writer … in a different genre 🙂
    Here is to the world and words! Happy writing.

    Reply

  34. Hello Bri! I also appreciate your nod in my direction. One of my recent 1957 Time Capsule posts mentions my old Fiat Spider convertible. Santa Cruz via Highway 1 was one of my favorite destinations on a summer day with the top down. Best to you!

    Reply

  35. Hello Bri! Thank you so much for stopping by my blog and choosing to follow. I have always loved book and writing, even though my training is in Fine Arts (painting and drawing). Looking back over my life, I noticed that many of the jobs I have held have involved books and writing…this observation encouraged me to start my blogs and to try and incorporate my various interests. I really appreciate your interest. Kind regards, Rebekah 🙂

    Reply

  38. Hi, I wanted to thank you for following my blog, Every Little Thought. I see you’re in Santa Cruz. I’m a Sonoma Co native. My husband & I currently live in Ukiah.

    Reply

  45. I am amazed you’ve followed my blog, Bri, and look forward to reading your collection of poems. Blessings–Peg

    Reply

      3. I’ll be happy to be in touch once I read it. The few poems I glanced at in the “See Inside” were lovely. I hope to learn much from you, Bri. 🙂

      5. Bri, I have spent a few days relishing your book. It is a book to taste slowly. You poems invite me to contemplation. Well done! I know this is a book I will cherish and will hope to emulate in my own poetry. 🙂

      6. Thank you oh so much, Peg! I really appreciate your kind words, they mean a great deal to me. I would absolutely love for you to share your thoughts on Amazon if you feel comfortable doing so? So glad you enjoyed it!

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