Candice Iloh

Candice Iloh (stylized in lowercase as candice iloh) is a queer, first-generation Nigerian-American writer, poet, educator and dancer. Their debut novel, Every Body Looking, was a finalist for the National Book Award for Young People's Literature and Michael L. Printz Award honor book.

Personal life Iloh graduated from Howard University, where they studied public relations. In 2017, they received a Master of Fine Arts from Lesley University, They completed residencies at VONA, The Home School via Lambda Literary, and the Rhode Island Writer's Colony.

Iloh's mother, Debrah, struggled with addiction throughout Iloh's life. She died of stomach cancer in 2018. They presently live in Philadelphia.

Career At a poet, Iloh has performed nationally, including the Nuyorican Poets Café in New York City, the Reginald F. Lewis Museum in Baltimore, and the National Museum of African Art in Washington, D.C. They have also advanced to the final rounds in the following competitions: Graffiti DC Slam, Beltway Poetry Slam, and 11th Hour Poetry Slam.

Iloh's poetry has been published by Blackberry Magazine, Blavity, Fjords Review, For Harriet, TheGrio, Insight Magazine, and the Lambda Literary Foundation.

Iloh created a one-person show, Ada: On Stage, which debuted in 2018 at Hi-ARTS.

Iloh served as the Managing Editor of Quiet Lunch Magazine.

They have also worked as an educator and coach with Voices UnBroken, Split This Rock, and the American Poetry Museum. Through their work, Iloh has mentored young people in public school classrooms, athletic programs, detention centers, and youth shelters.

Later, they were a Writer-in-Residence at the Bronx Academy of Letters. 2021 Every Body Looking Michael L. Printz Award Honor Publications Iloh's poetry has been published by Blackberry Magazine, Blavity, Fjords Review, For Harriet, TheGrio, Insight Magazine, and the Lambda Literary Foundation.

Books Break Fast From Her Skin (2014) In The Breakbeats Poets, Volume 2: Black Girl Magic Anthology (2018) Every Body Looking (2020) Break This House (2022) Salt the Water (2023)