Constance Quarterman Bridges was awarded the 2005 Cave Canem Poetry Prize by Sonia Sanchez for her manuscript, Lions Don't Eat Us. A native of New Jersey and the third of 10 children, she began her writing career in 1987 after early retirement as a Program Analyst for the Treasury Department. She has participated in creative writing workshops, studied with such poets as Stephen Dunn, and received two Fellowships from the New Jersey State Council on the Arts. Her work has been published in many journals and magazines.