Billie Wilson was born in 1941, and grew up in rural Indiana. She moved to Alaska in 1962, and lives in Juneau with her husband Gary who was born in, and introduced her to, North Dakota. All three states continue to influence her haiku. She began writing “haiku-like poems” in the 1960s, but it wasn’t until 1997 that she discovered the worldwide haiku community and began a serious study of the genre. That led to a deeper appreciation of the haiku potential, and a desire to begin her development as a haiku poet. Her work has appeared in many of the leading haiku journals and anthologies. Some of her awards include the Harold G. Henderson Memorial Award, the Gerald Brady Memorial Award, and The Heron’s Nest Readers’ Choice Poem of the Year.