About Me

Alex Gurtis is the author of the chapbook When the Ocean Comes to Me (Bottlecap Press, 2024). In addition to his writing, he is the Co-Founder of the Literary Arts Council of Central Florida, and serves as an assistant editor for Boulevard.

A ruth weiss Foundation Maverick Poet Award Finalist and a winner of Saw Palm’s 2022 Florida Fauna and Flora contest, Alex received his MFA from the University of Central Florida. His work as a poet and critic has appeared in or is forthcoming in anthologies and publications such as Barrelhouse, HAD, Harpur Palate, The Pinch, Maudlin House, and West Trade Review among others. His work has been longlisted for the Wigleaf Top 50 list for 2026 and nominated for a Best of the Net in Poetry.

The former founder and owner of Zeppelin Books, an independent bookstore in Downtown Orlando, Alex is an avid believer in community and leaving the world a little better than he found it. Often found at the intersection of writing and place making, he serves on the board of the Kerouac Project of Orlando, teaches at Valencia College, where he organizes the Annual Ilyse Kusnetz Literary Festival and in 2025, he was one of three finalists for the position of Orlando Poet Laureate.

You can follow him on Instagram @apbg_alex and Substack,