Robyn Schiff, associate professor of English at the University of Iowa, is one of five finalists for a Los Angeles Times Book Prize in poetry for her book A Woman of Property.

Released by Penguin in March 2016, A Woman of Property has drawn praise from such publications as The New York Times and The New Yorker, among others. 

“Schiff’s poems, with their Hitchcock-like distrust of appearances, their alertness to hidden binds and snares, offer something few poets ever discover: a vision of the whole world,” writes The New Yorker’s Dan Chiasson.

Schiff also previously wrote two books published by the UI Press, Revolver and Worth. She earned her MFA from the Iowa Writers’ Workshop in 1999 and joined the UI faculty in 2008. Schiff teaches poetry in the Department of English and directs undergraduate creative writing.

The Los Angeles Times Book Prizes, which cover 11 categories featuring 55 total finalists, are judged by working writers, academics, journalists and librarians. The prizes will be awarded April 21 at the University of Southern California.