Anna Lena Phillips Bell

Anna Lena Phillips Bell is a writer, teacher, editor, printer, and author of Might Could, winner of the Anthony Hecht Poetry Prize and also on the list of 2026's most anticipated poetry books. She formerly served as senior editor at American Scientist, covering botany, ecology, and the arts, and in 2013 became editor of Ecotone. An associate professor in UNCW’s MFA and BFA programs in creative writing, Bell lives with her family near what is now called the Cape Fear River, and calls ungendered Appalachian square dances.