Brendan Shay Basham

Brendan Shay Basham (Diné) is Tó ts’ohnii and Bit’ahnii, born for bilagáana. A fiction writer, poet, educator, and former chef, Brendan was born in Alaska and raised in northern Arizona. He received his MFA from the Institute of American Indian Arts, and BA in Liberal Arts from The Evergreen State College. His debut novel, Swim Home to the Vanished, is due from Harper Books/HarperCollins, on August 22, 2023.

Brendan’s work has appeared in Puerto del Sol, Santa Fe Literary Review, Yellow Medicine Review, and Juked, among other publications. He is a recipient of Poetry Northwest’s inaugural James Welch Prize for Indigenous Writers, the Ucross Foundation’s first Native American Literary Award, and fellowships from the Truman Capote Trust, Writing By Writers, and Tin House.

Brendan lives and teaches writing in Baltimore, where he runs a make-believe café with his wife and dog.