Matthew Nienow lives in Port Townsend, Washington with his wife and two sons. Professionally trained as a wooden boatbuilder, he spent over a decade building small boats and custom wooden paddle boards. He is the author of two full-length poetry collections published by Alice James Books: House of Water (2016) and If Nothing (forthcoming in 2025), as well as three earlier chapbooks. His poems have appeared in such venues as Gulf Coast, New England Review, Ploughshares, and Poetry, which awarded him a 2013 Ruth Lilly Poetry Fellowship. He has also received fellowships, grants, and support from the National Endowment for the Arts, the Elizabeth George Foundation, Artist Trust of Washington State, the Bread Loaf Writers’ Conference, and 4Culture of Seattle.

He holds a BA in English from St. Olaf College, an MFA in Poetry from the University of Washington, an Associate degree in Traditional Small Craft from the Northwest School of Wooden Boatbuilding, and a Master of Science in Mental Health Counseling from Prescott College. He previously worked as a Writer-in-Residence for Seattle Arts & Lectures and currently serves on the Editorial Board of Alice James Books.