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! 

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

or in support of your favorite indie bookstore through bookShop.org

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

"It's a dynamic work, both striking and sensitive. Julie Ann Baker Brin is quite accomplished and thoughtful as a writer."

—H.B. Berlow, Midwest historical crime fiction author and co-host of the “Tikiman and the Viking” podcast 

Book cover image ("Clouds Wash Against the Prairie Shore") created by Charles Baughman. Charles is a nationally known artist and long-time art educator. He received his BA in Studio Arts and Art History from Kearney State College and his MFA in Painting and Sculpture from Wichita State University. Charles has instructed at several Wichita area colleges, museums and art centers. He and his wife, Kate Pepper, created The Art Park campus in 2007 and have owned the Monart School of Art since 2004. Charles loves seeing that lightbulb moment when a student really gets the material being taught and runs with it. Charles builds and paints on wooden cradle boxes and frequently uses donated paints otherwise destined for the landfill. His unique style is inspired by impressionistic landscapes but with the energy and motion of a Pollock painting. Charles uses sticks and his fingers to create bold, dripping landscapes which he calls "splatterscapes." As a kind of signature, Charles adheres a heart-shaped rock to the front of each painting, representing his love of nature and bringing a true piece of the area to his work.

Interior art by Kate Pepper. Kate has been an artist since she could pick up a crayon and has a wide range of interests, media, and formats. She is kept busy with all the details of running the Art Park campus as well as teaching art at a small private school for students with profound ADHD and/or dyslexia. Kate enjoys making large mosaic installations in her free time and donates her creations to organizations in Wichita for fundraisers as well as beautifying The Art Park campus with her work. She is also passionate about reducing waste and runs a marker and crayon recycling program at three schools in Wichita. 90% of her mosaic supplies are discontinued tile samples that would normally be thrown out; Kate estimates she has rescued over two tons of tile and other materials from the landfill and turned it into art.

Cover painting photographed by Dimitris Skliris. Born and raised in Athens, Greece, Dimitris was first introduced to photography in 1982 with a Yashica GT while on a road trip to what was then Yugoslavia. However, he truly discovered his calling when taking a photojournalism class while studying electrical engineering at Wichita State University. He has been in the field ever since, gaining experience through exhibiting personal work, working in museums, teaching university courses, completing his MFA, opening a studio and making thousands of photographs along the way. Since Fall of 2025 Dimitris has been the Director of Events & Outreach at Botanica, The Wichita Gardens.