Bio

Alex Behr is the author of the story collections ANIMAL KINGDOM and PLANET GRIM, both on 7.13 Books, and the poetry chapbook GRIEF STICK, Picture Frame Press. Her writing has been published in Tin House, Epiphany, Salon, Oregon Humanities, The Rumpus, Buckman Journal, Vol. 1 Brooklyn, in anthologies, and others. She lives in Portland, OR, and plays piano and bass guitar.

She teaches writing workshops through Literary Arts.

  • What she learned from her mom: always carry a pack of cards

  • What her cat taught her: not a damn thing

Awards and Nominations

Winner, The Tom Doulis Graduate Fiction Writing Award

Finalist, The Tom and Phyllis Burnam Award in Graduate Fiction

Winner, Tom Bates Essay Award

Finalist, Tom Bates Award for Reporting

Finalist, Tom Doulis Graduate Fiction Award

Winner, Tom Bates Award for Reporting

Grant Recipient

Grief Stick Documentary

Alex Behr received an Arts3C grant from Regional Arts and Culture Council to produce a short documentary film with director/editor Brian Padian called GRIEF STICK. Nominated for Best Documentary in the 2025 Oregon Documentary Film Festival.

Altar/Altered: Sacred Objects and Adoption Stories

Alex Behr received a Make-Build-Learn grant from the Regional Arts and Culture Council to support Altar/Altered— sacred objects + adoption stories. Adoption weaves through lives, fundamentally altering them. Spanning generations and cultures, six people share their adoption stories through the lens of personally sacred objects. Interviews by Alex Behr.