News

Kirkus Reviews included The Words of Dr. L as one of 20 Best Books to read in May

The Words of Dr. L is listed as one of 20 Best Books to read in May by Kirkus Reviews. You can read the whole list here.

Book Tour for The Words of Dr. L

I’ll be reading in New York, Boston, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Iowa City for The Words of Dr. L. Info on each reaching here and in the events column.

“Beautifully crafted stories”–The Words of Dr. L is reviewed in Shelf Awareness

 “In these beautifully crafted dozen stories, a National Book Award finalist examines the recent past and near future, and the choices human beings make in order to be in community with one another.” You can read the full review in Shelf Awareness here.

The Words of Dr. L is an Editor’s Pick in Kirkus Reviews

The Words of Dr. L was featured as an Editor’s Pick in Kirkus Reviews, the April 1 issue! Here is the page where it was featured.

The Words of Dr. L gets great Publishers Weekly Review

Publisher’s Weekly says about “The Words of Dr. L:” Bender’s impressive latest (after The New Order) explores relationships between friends and family with a mix of speculative and realist tales. The narrator of “The Words of Dr. L” lives in a dystopian future where pregnant women are required by law to become mothers. She hopes to end her pregnancy, breaking from her best friend Joanne, who joins a group called Protection, established to shield women’s fetuses from their “untoward thoughts.” In the unsettling and dreamlike “The Extra Child,” a couple drops off their youngest child at college, only to return home and find another child who “looked to be about ten” and claims to be theirs (“Suddenly, I knew it,” the mother thinks. “I had given birth to him, clearly in some sort of haze, and then I had forgotten him”). The most moving story, “Arlene Is Dead,” follows a family who care for their elderly relative Sylvia while weathering the Covid pandemic. In the monotony of quarantine, they become delighted by how animated Sylvia becomes when ranting about a self-absorbed friend. Bender’s more fantastical stories recall the work of Isaac Asimov, while her realist takes offer insight into the complex lives of characters navigating loss and disappointment. It’s an accomplished collection from a seasoned storyteller.”

The Words of Dr. L gets a starred Kirkus review!

“Highly original stories that speak to the challenges of being human in the 21st century.” Love this starred review from Kirkus for The Words of Dr. L. You can read the whole review here.

My essay, “The Replica Therapy Couch,” appears in The Journal of the American Psychoanalytic Association

A new essay, “The Replica Therapy Couch,” appears in The Journal of the American Psychoanalytic Assocation. Here is a link to the opening.

Final cover for The Words of Dr. L

Here is the final cover for The Words of Dr. L, with blurbs from Carolyn Ferrell and Matthew Klam.

Praise from Matthew Klam for The Words of Dr. L

Grateful to Matthew Klam for this blurb for The Words of Dr. L:

“Karen Bender’s stories deftly explore our current American moment, a troubling one that verges on insanity. Bender is concerned with love, family, and motherhood, and in these beautifully written stories she uses words to describe thoughts and feelings that I’ve never seen described before. A great writer helps us understand who we are, and what it means to be human.” —Matthew Klam, author of Who is Rich?

Praise from Carolyn Ferrell for The Words of Dr. L

Grateful to Carolyn Ferrell for her blurb for The Words of Dr. L.

“Karen Bender’s brilliant new collection of stories is devastating in its human truths yet not without hope. In worlds where nouns are capitalized (Confusion, Separation, Protection) and empathy is under siege, these stories provide the answer to Andromeda Romano-Lax’s question: How can fiction predict a future that’s already happening? Motherhood circles around climate change, reproductive rights orbit autocracy, love swirls around pestilence and vicious patriarchy. Yet Bender’s characters never lose sight of the urgency of resilience and change. These stories ensure that we never stop asking the questions that will save us. The Words of Dr. L is a true literary masterwork.” —Carolyn Ferrell, author of Dear Miss Metropolitan

The Words of Dr. L included on “Most Anticipated Books in 2025” list on Lithub

My third collection, The Words of Dr. L, appears on Lithub’s list of Most Anticipated Books in 2025. You can see the full list here.

Cover reveal for my third collection, “The Words of Dr. L and Other Stories!”

I’m excited to share the cover for my third collection, The Words of Dr. L and Other Stories, to be published by Counterpoint Press in May, 2025. Here is a link to see the beautiful cover and find out more about the book. https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/772198/the-words-of-dr-l-by-karen-bender/

The New York Times Book Review mentions “Refund” as “2 Books About Other People’s Money”

Joumana Khatib discusses my collection “Refund” in this article about books about money (in time for tax day.) You can read the article here.

New story, “The Extra Child,” in Image Journal

I’m excited to have a new story, “The Extra Child,” in this issue of Image Journal. You can read the story here.

Like Normal People included in Los Angeles Times’ list of Books to Find the Real America

My novel, “Like Normal People,” was included in Susan Straight’s map of 1,001 novels to read to find the real America. You can see the list here. https://www.latimes.com/opinion/story/2023-05-28/american-novels-1001-literary-geography-map-states