M.R. Mandell was born in San Diego, moved to Los Angeles when she was a baby, then at five, her family left California for Texas.

A California girl at heart, she ran back to Los Angeles on her eighteenth birthday to chase a career in acting. After a couple decades, and a collection of roles on soap operas, sitcoms, and after school specials, she stumbled into poetry.

Her poems have appeared in The McNeese Review, HAD and Door Is A Jar, among others. She is the author of two chapbooks, Don’t Worry About Me (Bottlecap Press, 2024) and The Last Girl (Finishing Line Press, 2025).

In 2023, she attended the Southampton Writers Conference under the tutelage of Billy Collins.

Her poem, “My Brother’s Ten-Speed Bike,” first published in Door Is A Jar, was nominated for a Pushcart Prize in December, 2024, and was named Door Is A Jar’s Best Poem, 2024.

When not writing, she can be found exploring the streets of Hollywood with her husband and Golden Retrievers.