my first book!

Official publication / release date: May 17, 2026 

Julie Ann Baker Brin is the Winner of the Anamcara Press 2024 Amity Literary Prize for her poetry collection: The Sigh and Flutter.

Thanks to Maureen Carroll (publisher & Editor-in-Chief, Anamcara Press LLC), Beth Gruver Gulley (editor of The Sigh and Flutter), Amber Fraley (Executive Editor), and all the fine folks at Anamcara Press for their great work! 

Pre-order: https://anamcara-press.com/product/the-sigh-and-flutter/

And thanks to artists Charles Baughman and Kate Pepper of The Art Park for the gorgeous cover and interior images. 

“Hopeful, specific, philosophical, wise—these (often brief) poems are like the white dots in the night sky, glimpses of something big and bright and massive—something that brings not only light, but life. These poems brighten both my days and nights.”

— Kevin Rabas, Poet Laureate of Kansas (2017-2019), Improvise

"Julie Ann Baker Brin’s keen observations of people and the world around her are on full display in The Sigh and Flutter. She offer insights with a philosophical bent—sometimes as brief aphorisms, other times as vividly detailed portraits. The author also has a penchant for the quirky, apparent even in her titles."

— Janice Northerns, Some Electric Hum: poems (winner: 2021 KU's Byron Caldwell Smith Book Award for Poetry; 2021 Kansas Authors Club's Nelson Poetry Book Award)

"Julie's use of language is magnificent and alarming as she brings all of us under the microscope. With her careful, specific, and intelligent use of words and literary structures, she has given us a powerful and very word-aware collection [to] savor."

— Michael Poage, poet and founder of Blue Cedar Press

"Julie Brin sees the world and gives it back with whimsy and wisdom. Her words reimagine the small intimacies and disconnects: the subtle self-deceptions that keep us from seeing our inevitable demise."

— Grechen Cassel Eick of Blue Cedar Press, author of eight books including Dissent in Wichita and Resistance

"These poems soar not in defiance of gravity but in full recognition of it, reminding us that the human spirit is as much about earthbound coffee as it is about stars."

 — April Pameticky, with concern for how words land in the body

"Julie Ann Baker Brin’s mystical curiosity pulled me in ... [she] shows us that the potency of life is enhanced, rather than diminished, by its fleetingness, its unpredictability."

— Cheryl Unruh, Gravedigger’s Daughter: Vignettes from a Small Kansas Town

"Part whimsy, part earnest reflection, but all human in its tone and reflections. In The Sigh and Flutter we find the little girl dancing with the woman, bantering, exploring moments, thoughts born from a life lived, woven into a collection of poetry that understands what glitter is as it settles on our skin, and searches for light in a world of vines and weeds. Brin brings us a work of rhythm and resonance, a pulse, a heartbeat we can hear and feel."

— Kerry Moyer, Author of Salt and Turnpike Prairie

"Brin’s poetic story reminds us of the enormous value of the smallest everything, from the spark of passionate fire to the Post-it note messages of lasting love. Like Brin, we are all trying to make sense of where we exist in time."

— Tammy Hader, Walking Old Roads: A Memoir of Kindness Rediscovered

"Thought-provoking. Humorous. Entertaining. Award-winning poet Julie Ann Baker Brin’s collection engages the reader from the first poem to the last. This collection is divided into five parts: The Tangle and the Clash, The Stir and the Spin, The Sigh and Flutter, The Hum and Moan, The Drone and Chaos. These part titles only give you a clue as to the creative gems in each grouping. In every set, I found poems I couldn’t skim one time only. They called me to read and meditate on the words and message—on her unique view of a word’s meaning and to see the world through new eyes."

— Sandra Lou Taylor, author of the Hadley Family Saga (including More Than an Attractive Face) and Joyful Living; The Simple Things

"These poetry-like substances are mostly 1/2 teaspoon to tablespoon-sized. Their silliness and sweetness sometimes give way to embarrassment and grief and head-shaking confusion, but briefly, as though they don’t want to make any messes that will be difficult to clean up. There are poems that are Kansan to their core and others that are cosmic."

— Seth Bate, Winfield's Walnut Valley Festival

"Julie Ann Baker Brin's collection of poetry, The Sigh and Flutter, takes the reader on a journey, whether in a helium balloon or down memory lane, providing wonderful imagery that encapsulates all the senses. I connected and felt seen within so many of her poems, while others evoked a full range of emotions, forcing their way into my thoughts all day long."

— Abbi Lee, Author & Copywriter

"Sometimes her words are gentle, encouraging you to come to your own conclusions. Other times, they hit like a one-two punch, the poem ending before you even realize what’s happened, leaving you in stunned silence as your mind catches up."

— Jill D. Miller, Never Finished: Practical advice for Modern Women to inspire your fierce, authentic self

"Talking about poetry can be difficult. All of these little details like rhythm, the sound of the words, the way the lines flow, when you put them together, and you do it well, you get an experience. Each of Julie's poems is an experience. It's like looking through a peephole and discovering an entire world. It's a gift to give someone fresh eyes to experience the world and Julie has that gift."

— Michelle Barrett, madcap scribbler, writer, and doodler