Sanam Sheriff is a queer poet, performer, and educator from Bangalore, India. Their debut poetry collection HUM ( University of Nebraska Press, 2026) won the Backwaters Prize in Poetry. Currently, Sanam teaches creative writing at Haverford College. Her work has been published in Poetry Magazine, Poem-a-Day, The Rumpus, Virginia Quarterly Review, Poetry Daily, Outlook India, and elsewhere. Sanam holds an MFA from Washington University in St. Louis. From 2022-2025, they served as an Assistant Professor of Creative Writing at Bryn Mawr College. Sanam lives in Philadelphia, where they curate The Poets’ Studio at Twelve Gates Arts.