Anne E.G. Nydam is the author of books, short stories, and poetry, an artist of relief block prints, and the inaugural Poet Laureate of Needham, MA. Bittersweetness & Light, her collection of hopeful spec fic short stories, poetry, and art, was released in January 2025. She is also the author and illustrator of On the Virtues of Beasts of the Realms of Imagination (2019), a medieval-style bestiary of fantastical creatures; middle grade fantasy The Extraordinary Book of Doors (2014); MG epistolary tall tale The Bad Advice of Grandma Hasenfuss (2010); the Kate and Sam Adventures fantasy trilogy for elementary kids, and the Otherworld Series (yes, one of a thousand “Otherworld Serieses” in the universe) a 6 book high fantasy series of exploring the world with curiosity, wonder, and empathy (instead of swords). Anne has also written and illustrated non-fiction animal alphabet Amazing, Beguiling, Curious (2010) and nursery rhyme collection Hey, Diddle Diddle! and Other Rhymes (2005), and edited and illustrated the tiny poetry collection This Holy Day (2017).
Her short stories and poems have appeared in Fantasy Magazine, Cosmic Roots and Eldritch Shores, New Myths, and Friends Journal, among others, as well as anthologies including When Flowers Sing: A Poetry Anthology, ed. Christina Isobel (2024) and To Ukraine, With Love, ed. Fran Eisemann (2024). She also exhibits her relief block prints regularly.
Anne lives in Needham with a husband, a cat, and a pampered Venus fly trap, but her twin children have just been launched from the nest. With an undergraduate degree in linguistics, a background teaching middle school art, and an abiding interest in history, natural history, and art history, Anne can’t go far without encountering something fascinating. She believes that finding joy is an act of fierce defiance. Learn more about her art and writing at NydamPrints.com.