Sam Slupski (they/them) is a nonfiction writer and poet from Kansas, with roots in Texas, now living on the Olympic Peninsula. They are the author of UNTIL TENDER (Game Over Books).

In their work, Sam interrogates the mental health and medical industrial complex, the politics of care, and the wellness industry. They also write about their lived experience with intergenerational healing, queerness, and chronic illness. They are a disability justice advocate, speaking out against pandemic denial, living with Long COVID, and encouraging everyday safety precautions to protect against disabling viruses.

They started as a shy, brave poet slamming in a dark bar in downtown Kansas City, and went on to work with The Heart of It Writing Retreat as Director of Communications and Storytelling, St. Louis Queer Support & Healing focusing on community consciousness-raising, outreach, and communications skill-building, Austin Bat Cave as a teaching artist, and many other side quests in between. They’ve headlined events like the Melbourne Spoken Word Poetry Festival, competed in several national slam poetry competitions, toured the US and Canada, and were a Button Poetry Chapbook Contest finalist.

From having 20 people in their small, downtown Kansas City apartment for soup nights to co-creating an artist dinner series in Austin, Texas, they have always had a knack for bringing people together. As former Program Director of Poetic Underground, they spent four years hosting sold-out slam poetry events, standing-room only open mics, and was awarded an ArtsKC grant to host traveling poets for workshops and performances.

Sam sends out a quarterly snail mail newsletter called Slow Post. They can be found Instagram at @theyaresam and some of their past work can be read at Nourishing Notes. They are a hobby ceramicist, vegetable lover, and will always stop to take in a sunset. Sam is currently working on their next book.