MK Chavez is an Afro-Latinx writer and educator. Chavez co-directs Berkeley Poetry Festival, is co-founder/curator of Lyrics & Dirges reading series, and is executive director of Ouroboros Coaching & Writing Lab.
Chavez’s writing explores mixed-race identity, social justice, environmental resilience, horror cinema, ritual, and the creative process.
Chavez’s work has been recognized with a Pen Oakland Josephine Miles Award, Alameda Arts Leadership Award, San Francisco Foundation/Nomadic Press Literary Award, and Ruth Weiss Maverick Award. Chavez’s work has been recognized by the Berkeley Public Library Foundation and with an Alameda Leadership Award. In 2023, she was a Yerba Center of the Arts 100. Chavez has received fellowships from CantoMundo, Caldera, Community of Writers, Hedgebrook, Playa, Small Press Traffic, and VONA.
Chavez’s literary offerings include Dear Animal,Mothermorphosis, the lyric essay chapbook A Brief History of the Selfie, and Virgin Eyes. Recent work can be found on the walls of the art installation Manifest Differently.
2025 Bookworm Blockparty
Speaker – Official Launch of the BABF Affinity Lit Collectives
Speaker – Incantations to Open Portals
2025 Headliners
Moderator – Who’s Afraid of Gender?
2025 Writers’ Workshops
Speaker – The Power of Voice: Writing for Social Change & Personal Truth
