Michelle Engel received the Humanities Essay Award for her queer theory analysis of The Lost Boys, while an undergraduate, and also contributed to her college's newspaper. Ms. Engel's completed degrees include a BA in English Literature and Language with a minor in Communications and the Arts, as well as an MA in English. Her Master's Thesis considered archetypal underworld journeys as a symbolic framework for healing. 

She was runner-up in one of Button Eye Review's Halloween writing contests, and a finalist in a similar competition from a local museum. Her visual art, poetry, or short fiction has appeared in Glassworks Magazine, Button Eye Review, The Bangalore Review, Fifth Wheel Press's digital anthology The Truth Is in the Stars (and accompanying print edition), and the 4th Edition of Beyond Queer Words. A Dancing Girl Press chapbook is forthcoming. 

Her art has been featured by SAGE and The Art Garage. While included in an art exhibit at the public library, she presented on her process and her theories of creativity. 

She also has numerous self-published pieces available on Amazon.