Evan Lavender-Smith was born in Des Moines, Iowa, and attended the University of California at Berkeley. He is the author of From Old Notebooks (Dzanc Books, 2013) and Avatar (Six Gallery Press, 2011). He is also the editor-in-chief of Puerto del Sol and the founding editor of Noemi Press. His writing has appeared in many magazines, including Arts & Letters, BOMB, Colorado Review, Denver Quarterly, Evergreen Review, Fence, Glimmer Train and Hobart. Evan lives with his wife and children in Las Cruces, New Mexico, and he teaches in the MFA program at New Mexico State University.