Ex Ophidia Press was established in 2016 to foster the publication of excellent poetry in elegantly designed books. It publishes English-language poetry that explores new territories of the imagination by using the traditional techniques of poetry. The press is owned by Dr. Amy Haddad, PhD, MFA.
This August, Amy Haddad and Ex Ophidia Press welcome poet Colleen Morton Busch to Omaha, Lincoln and Seward in August for a series of readings, book signings and a writing workshop at Lauritzen Gardens.
Morton Busch is the 2025 winner of the Richard-Gabriel Rummonds Poetry Prize, an annual poetry contest by the Omaha-based press. Her winning collection, Smolder, which was selected from nearly 300 entries, is a collection of poems about the many kinds of fire blazing inside life.
Amy spoke to Mike Hogan about how Busch is the author of Fire Monks: Zen Minds Meets Wildfire (Penguin Press, 2011), which was named best book of the year by Publisher’s Weekly. Her prose and poems have been published widely, including in publications like Willow Springs, Poet Lore, Belleview Literary Review, Orion, The Washington Post, Tricycle and the Ekphrastic Review. Smolder is her first poetry collection.
There are and have been several events celebrating this new publication. Information on these events and how to enter the poetry competition for next year can all be found at Ex Ophidia Press.
