Celia Drill, (formerly Homesley) grew up in Santa Cruz, CA. She attended Humboldt State University where she studied with the poet Judith Minty and was thrice been awarded the Jodi Stutz Memorial Prize for Poetry. She then went on to obtain her MFA in poetry from San Francisco State University, where she studied with the poet and novelist Frances Mayes. For the last ten years, Drill, a single parent, has worked several jobs, including teaching creative writing at Humboldt State University. Her first collection of poetry, Body of Crimson Leaves was published by Backwaters Press in 2006.

Winner of the 2017 Vernice Quebodeaux Poetry Prize for Women with her book Awake Through Dreams.