Philana Imade Omorotionmwan (o-more-o-tune-wha) was born and raised in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. She writes to save her mind, body, and spirit from a world that seems hell-bent on destroying them. Her plays include Before Evening Comes, Fireflies, The Defiance of Dandelions, and Strong Face, or Misogynoir. She was the recipient of Marin Theatre Company's 2019 David Calicchio Emerging Playwright Prize, appeared on the 2019 Kilroys List, and was a 2018-19 Playwrights' Center Jerome Fellow. Her work has been developed and/or presented at the Bay Area Playwrights Festival, Br!nk New Works Festival, La MaMa Experiments Series, Geva Theatre Center, and Athena Project Festival. She has been a semifinalist for the Relentless Award, P73 Fellowship, and Many Voices Fellowship, as well as a two-time Heideman finalist and a finalist for the Princess Grace Playwriting Fellowship, the Theatre503 Award, and the Playwrights Realm's Scratchpad Series. Her short plays have been commissioned and/or produced by Ensemble Studio Theatre, Pillsbury House + Theatre, Manhattan Theatre Source, Little Black Dress Ink, and Ohlone College. Her poems have been published in New Delta Review and African American Review. Philana earned a BA in English at Stanford University and completed an MFA in Playwriting elsewhere in May 2018.