News

The latest updates.

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

04 Oct 2024

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”

13 Apr 2024

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

11 Jan 2024

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

29 May 2023

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

Interview about the role of image in fiction with Pakistan’s The News on Sunday

11 Dec 2022

I spoke with writer Muhammed Sheeraz Dasti about the role of image in writing fiction for the newspaper The News on Sunday in Pakistan. You can read the interview here

“The Elevator” appears in new anthology, “Love in the Time of Time’s Up.”

07 Oct 2022

My story “The Elevator,” which appeared in Guernica and in my collection The New Order, is included in an anthology, “Love in the Time of Time’s Up,” published by Tortoise Books. You can buy the anthology here.

Word for Word theater in SF performing my story “Eternal Love” Sept. 4

02 Sep 2022

Word for Word theater, at Z Space in San Francisco, will perform my story “Eternal Love,” on September 4. This will be the first time my story has been performed with neurodiverse actors. The story is part of my novel, “Like Normal People.” More information here.

Visiting Associate Professor for the MFA program at SUNY Stony Brook

22 Aug 2022

I’m thrilled to be joining the MFA program at SUNY Stony Brook as a Visiting Associate Professor, part-time. You can find out more about the program here. https://www.stonybrook.edu/southampton/mfa/cwl/

A new story, “Messengers,” appears in The Yale Review.

06 Jun 2022

The Yale Review published a new story, “Messengers,” in the summer 2022 issue. You can read the story here.

Bookriot includes “Where to Hide in a Synagogue” in list of Best Short Stories

06 Apr 2022

Bookriot included my story “Where to Hide in a Synagogue,” in a list of 34 of the “Best Short Stories of All Time.” You can read the list of all the stories here: https://bookriot.com/best-short-stories-of-all-time/.

Teaching course for SUNY Stony Brook MFA program Spring 2022

10 Jan 2022

I’m excited to teach a course, “From Realism to Surrealism to Speculative: Developing Strangeness in Your Work” for the MFA program at SUNY Stony Brook this spring. Details here. https://www.stonybrook.edu/commcms/southampton/mfa/cwl/courses_spring_2022

“The Shame Exchange” in anthology, “Twenty Twenty: A Stories on Stage Anthology.”

28 Jun 2021

My short story, “The Shame Exchange,” which first appeared in The Yale Review, will be reprinted in a new anthology, “Twenty Twenty: A Stories on Stage Sacramento Anthology,” including stories inspired by the year 2020. You can buy the anthology here.

Drexel University Literary Festival May 18

13 May 2021

I’m excited to participate in the Drexel University Literary Festival on May 18, via Zoom. I’ll be doing a reading at 12:30 EST, and then doing a short lecture at 2 pm. Here’s an article about it and the Zoom link.

Teaching classes through the Iowa Summer Writing Festival Online

02 Mar 2021

I’m happy to be teaching classes through the Iowa Summer Writing Festival Online starting in March. I’ll be teaching weekend and longer courses. You can find out more information here.

Interview for SUNY Stony Brook’s Bookends blog

30 Jan 2021

I talk to the Bookends blog about the revision process. You can read the interview here.

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