Maya Williams (ey/they/she) is a religious Black multiracial nonbinary suicide survivor who served as Portland, Maine's seventh poet laureate for a 2021-2024 term. Eir debut full length poetry collection Judas & Suicide was a finalist for a New England Book Award. Their second full length poetry collection, Refused a Second Date, was a finalist for a Maine Literary Award. They won two chapbook prizes: What's So Wrong with a Pity Party Anyway? in 2024 and Feminine Morbidity in 2025. Maya contributed prose to venues Sacred & Subversive, The Rumpus, Black Girl Nerds, LGBTQ Nation, The Daily Beast, Honey Literary, Talk Death, and more. You can follow more of Maya's work at mayawilliamspoet.com