BIOGRAPHY     BIBLIOGRAPHY     REVIEWS     FAQ

Welcome to the Home Page
of
KAREN JORDAN ALLEN

writer of fantasy, science fiction, and other literary adventures


ABOUT ME

Karen in her study.I started reading, making up stories, and playing the piano when I was five - if not sooner - and never stopped.  Well, hardly ever.  After brief forays into graduate school, the pastorate, college publications, and high school teaching, I now write fantasy and science fiction at my home in Maine.  I also play the piano for several school choruses and my church, and I love spending time outdoors.  A former Spanish teacher, I have traveled to Mexico, Puerto Rico, Ecuador, Argentina, and Peru, as well as England, Canada, and China.  I am an active member of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America (SFWA) and the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI).



RECENT PUBLICATIONS AND REVIEWS

"Alternate Anxieties," Interfictions: An Anthology of Interstitial Writing, Delia Sherman and Theodora Goss, eds., Interstitial Arts Foundation: April 2007.

    “'a marvellous, touching example of experimental writings gone right"
        -AS if! Australian Specfic in focus/Tansy Rayner Roberts

"Godburned," ­Asimov's Science Fiction, September 2006.

    "a well-crafted merging of cultures and spirituality"
        -Tangent Online/Suzanne Church

    "captures an outsider's experience of Mexico beautifully."
 -Locus/Nick Gevers

"Orqo Afloat on the Willkamayu," The First Heroes: New Tales of the Bronze Age, Harry Turtledove and Noreen Doyle, eds., Tor: May 2004.
    
     "full of interesting detail about Inca life . . . the ending snaps with energy."
          -SFSite.com/Sherwood Smith on "Orqo Afloat on the Willkamayu"



NEWS AND NOTES

Don't miss my story,  "Alternate Anxieties," in Interfictions: An Anthology of Interstitial Fiction.   It's my most experimental work to date, and it received a great review in AS if! Australian Specfic in focus.  For more about Interfictions, visit the Interfictions blogInterfictions is available from Amazon.com and other booksellers.

* * *

On a recent Sunday afternoon (June 24) I participated on a panel of fantasy writers at the Maine Festival of the Book in Portland. The other panelists were Kristen Britain, James Hetley, and my good friend Noreen Doyle. Bookseller Gibran Graham served as the perfect moderator. About two dozen people attended the panel on a beautiful day when they could have gone to the beach instead. They were attentive and enthusiastic, and asked good questions. I took a copy of Interfictions, and spoke about the anthology and my story in the course of the discussion.  Afterward at least two people bought copies, and I signed another three or four for the bookstore.  Noreen and I also signed copies of The First Heroes.  We heard from the festival organizers that our panel received stellar reviews!

* * *

My writing buddy and critique group member, Robin Merrow MacCready, won the MWA's Edgar Award for Best YA Mystery with her first novel, Buried, published in September 2006 by Dutton.  We are all absolutely thrilled for her.

* * *

I occasionally turn up at science fiction conventions in the Northeast, such as Boskone and Readercon.  Look for me every year at SCBWI-New England's fabulous annual conference in Nashua, New Hampshire.



Photo by Noreen Doyle

LINKS

SFWA - Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America
SCBWI - Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators
SCBWI-New England - New England regional chapter of SCBWI



Copyright 2007 by Karen Jordan Allen