Liina Koivula is a writer whose fiction celebrates queer relationships and subcultures of the North American West. You may know them from Olympia, Bellingham, Albuquerque, Vancouver, Spokane, Northampton, or the internet. They co-run Local Smoke Press and its radio show with historian Kaden Jelsing and write the Substack Lifeguard of Love.
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Liina holds an MFA in Creative Writing (Fiction) from Eastern Washington University and a BA from The Evergreen State College. Their story "Thanksgiving, 2001" was a runner up for the 2025 Missouri Review Editors' Prize and will be published online in 2026. "Wisdom Teeth" was a winner of the 2023 AWP Intro Journals Award. Liina's short fiction has been nominated for Best of the Net and a Pushcart Prize. They have work published or forthcoming in El Portal, Feign, The Missouri Review, Puerto del Sol, Right Hand Pointing, Room Magazine, The Spokesman-Review, Spokane Campfire Stories, and The Table Review.
email: liinakj@gmail.com
Publications
Thanksgiving, 2001 / The Missouri Review BLAST / February 26, 2026 / runner up for the 2025 Jeffrey E. Smith Editors’ Prize
Inheritance / The Table Review / October 30, 2025
While You're Twisting, I'm Still Breathing / Spokane Campfire Stories / August 2025 / nominated for a Pushcart Prize
Breeders / Room Magazine / issue 48.2, June 2025
Ethics of Care / Feign / April 21, 2025 / nominated for Best of the Net 2026
Delayed Gratification / Right Hand Pointing / issue 159, Spring 2025
Avoid the Darkness / The Spokesman-Review / Sunday August 4, 2024
Wisdom Teeth / Puerto del Sol / issue 59.1, Spring 2024
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