Editor and publisher
Paley served on the editorial staff of the University of Richmond’s literary magazine The Messenger, including work as prose nonfiction editor. She later founded 491 Magazine, where she worked as editor-in-chief and publisher. Her editorial activity connects her poetry to the practical life of little magazines: selecting work, shaping issues, and building spaces where emerging writers can appear beside established voices.
Education and literary work
Paley studied at the University of Richmond and later received an MFA from Vermont College of Fine Arts. Her work spans literary publishing, poetry, visual poetry, editorial practice, and nonfiction. She has also written educational books on subjects including the American Revolution, slavery narratives, and nuclear power.