Highlights

Highlights

Selected honors, performances, and milestones from my writing life.

READINGS & EVENTS HONORS & AWARDS

Current Highlights

01 — SEMIFINALIST

Button Poetry First Book Contest
2026
The Year of Diagnoses named a semifinalist in Button Poetry’s First Book Contest.

02 — HONORABLE MENTION

Jean Williams Poetry of Disability, Disease, and Healing Award
North Carolina Poetry Society · 2026
“Marriage Equality” received an Honorable Mention.

03 — FEATURED READER

Cattywampus Traveling Arts Guild
Upcoming · 2026
Selected as a featured poet for an upcoming reading.

From the Stage

Readings, workshops, awards, and other moments from my writing life.

  • Mirror selfie of poet Kaycee Painter smiling while holding a small prize envelope labeled "Slam Winner" with a handwritten amount of $20. The envelope is held in the foreground, while Kaycee stands in the reflection wearing denim overalls over a rainbow-striped shirt and glasses, holding a phone to take the photo.
  • Poet Kaycee Painter reads at a microphone during the North Carolina Poetry Society Awards while audience members sit facing the front of the room. Another presenter stands nearby, and the event takes place in a bright historic room with tall windows, artwork, and a piano.