News

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

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

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.”

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

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

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.

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