Before publishing Ceremony with Slope Editions, Mary Austin Speaker published the chapbooks The Bridge (Push Press, 2011) and 20 Love Poems for 10 Months (Ugly Duckling Presse, 2012). She is also the author of numerous critical works, essays, and a play I Am You This Morning You Are Me Tonight, written with her husband, poet Chris Martin. She has been the poetry editor for the Indiana Review, and founded the triptych reading series in New York City. She works as a teacher and book designer in Iowa City, IA.