Dior J. Stephens

Dior J. Stephens is a poet, editor, and educator. He holds a PhD in creative writing from the University of Cincinnati. 

Stephens is the author of two poetry collections: ATOMIC I (Nightboat, 2027) and CRUEL/CRUEL (Nightboat, 2023), a 2024 Ohioana Book Award finalist. His work has also appeared in numerous publications, including Poetry Daily and Poet Lore.

A recipient of fellowships from Cave Canem, Sewanee, and Lambda Literary Foundation, Stephens was also a 2026 Peter Taylor Fellow at the Kenyon Review Writers Workshop. He is the coeditor-in-chief of Foglifter Journal & Press. 

Stephens lives in Atlanta, on the ancestral homelands of the Muscogee (Creek) and Cherokee Peoples.