Gabriel Scala Olmstead is an American poet, essayist, and new media artist. Born in northwestern Pennsylvania, Scala grew up primarily in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. She holds degrees in creative writing and American literature from Bowling Green State University and the University of Mississippi, respectively. Leaping from the Bottom Step (1997), Scala’s first chapbook, was awarded the Edna Muedt Scholarship for Creative Writing and published by the National Federation of State Poetry Societies. In 2004, Scala’s second chapbook, Twenty Questions for Robbie Dunkle, was published by Kent State University Press as part of the Wick Chapbook Series. She lives and works in Richmond, Virginia.