Hello, I’m
Morissa Young
and I’m a writer, an editor, and a Midwesterner. I serve as an editor at Milkweed Editions and as founding coeditor of Strange Hymnal. I earned my MFA in poetry and publishing from the University of North Carolina Wilmington, where I worked as an undergraduate instructor and publishing staff at Lookout Books and Ecotone. I have spent a lot of time in forests and aquariums and think often about pinecones and fish. My favorite tree is either a bald cypress or a coastal redwood or a specific honey locust located in rural Wisconsin. I live in Minneapolis, Minnesota, with my partner and our two cats, Bamboo and Fig.
Writing & Interviews
where to find my work
Published
“A Poetry Collection Where Play Collapses the Limits of Language” – Electric Literature, March 2026
interview with Anna Nygren about their book blush / river / fox
“Morissa Young of Milkweed Editions Recommends . . .” — Poets & Writers, August 2025
essay in P&W’s Agents & Editors Recommend series
“Grumpy Girl Goes to the Gun Club” — NELLE, Issue 8, Spring 2025
prose poetry
“Taxidermy” — A Velvet Giant, Issue 10, October 2024
lyric essay
Pushcart Prize nominee
“Afterimage” — Frozen Sea, Issue 5, August 2024
poetry
Forthcoming
Strange Hymnal Issue 2.1
Strange Hymnal’s third issue is launching in April 2026
Testimonials
nice things people have said about me
What a pleasure and a treasure to have a real editor!!!!!💐💐💐”
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—Marilyn Hacker, National Book Award–winning poet
Ma told me about your email from the author, nice! That’s my girl. Hard work pays off 100% of the time it just takes longer some times.”
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—my dad
It’s hard to articulate just how indispensable Morissa immediately made herself within our team. I can’t count the number of embarrassing mistakes she saved us from making. While not easy, anyone can memorize a style guide; what Morissa brought to her editorial work was so much more than that. It was a deep care for the work, for the author’s voice and goals.”
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—Emily Louise Smith, Lookout Books Publisher
Morissa is brilliant, both in terms of her writing and the astute feedback she gives her peers. Really one of the best critics I’ve had at the table, and she always offers her responses with confident diplomacy.”
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—Nina de Gramont, author of The Christie Affair
An absolute aesthetic gift to the program. Like The New Yorker once said of Rihanna, Morissa is ‘incapable of making a sartorial mistake.’ I look up to her kindness, her beauty, her humor, and her words.”
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—Kyle Alderdice, author of Between
It's difficult to know where to begin with Morissa as all of the work she does is so exemplary. From leading a class copyedit, to discussing others' copyedits, to discussions about editing and anthologies, to her developmental edit on a piece of fiction, Morissa always did truly excellent work.”
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—Dr. Michelle Donahue, Ecotone Associate Editor