Kirsten Menger-Anderson (born December 6, 1969 in Santa Cruz, California) is an American fiction writer. Her first book, a collection of linked short stories titled ''Doctor Olaf van Schuler's Brain'', was published by

Algonquin Books Workman Publishing Company, Inc., is an American publisher of trade books founded by Peter Workman. The company is comprised of either imprints: Workman, Workman Children’s, Workman Calendars, Artisan, Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill and Algon ...

in 2008. A number of the collected stories have also appeared in literary journals, such as

Ploughshares ''Ploughshares'' is an American literary journal established in 1971 by DeWitt Henry and Peter O'Malley in The Plough and Stars, an Irish pub in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Since 1989, ''Ploughshares'' has been based at Emerson College in Boston. ...

and the

Southwest Review The ''Southwest Review'' is a literary journal published quarterly, based on the Southern Methodist University campus in Dallas, Texas. It is the third oldest literary quarterly in the United States. The current editor-in-chief is Greg Browndervi ...

. Menger-Anderson has a degree in Economics from

Haverford College Haverford College ( ) is a private liberal arts college in Haverford, Pennsylvania. It was founded as a men's college in 1833 by members of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers), began accepting non-Quakers in 1849, and became coeducational ...

and an MA in English and creative writing from

San Francisco State University San Francisco State University (commonly referred to as San Francisco State, SF State and SFSU) is a public research university in San Francisco. As part of the 23-campus California State University system, the university offers 118 different b ...

. She previously held positions at

Salon.com ''Salon'' is an American politically progressive/liberal news and opinion website created in 1995. It publishes articles on U.S. politics, culture, and current events. Content and coverage ''Salon'' covers a variety of topics, including re ...

and

Wired.com ''Wired'' (stylized as ''WIRED'') is a monthly American magazine, published in print and online editions, that focuses on how emerging technologies affect culture, the economy, and politics. Owned by Condé Nast, it is headquartered in San Fran ...

. Menger-Anderson currently lives in an old Victorian house in San Francisco with her husband and children. Her grandfather is the mathematician

Karl Menger Karl Menger (January 13, 1902 – October 5, 1985) was an Austrian-American mathematician, the son of the economist Carl Menger. In mathematics, Menger studied the theory of algebras and the dimension theory of low- regularity ("rough") curves a ...

Publications

* ''Doctor Olaf van Schuler’s Brain'', a collection of linked short stories,

Algonquin Algonquin or Algonquian—and the variation Algonki(a)n—may refer to: Languages and peoples *Algonquian languages, a large subfamily of Native American languages in a wide swath of eastern North America from Canada to Virginia **Algonquin la ...

, September, 2008 * ''Salk and Sabin'', a short story,

, Issue #106 Vol. 34/2&3 Fall 2008 * ''The Doctors'', a short story, Post Road, Issue 16 Fall/Winter 2008 * ''The Baquet'', a short story,

, Volume 89, Number 2 & 3, 2004 * ''Reading Grandpa’s Head'', a short story, Maryland Review, Volume 1 Fall 2004 * ''The Story of Her Breasts'', a short story, Plaztik Press, 2004 * ''Kathleen'', a short story, Pindeldyboz, 2003 * ''Blue Glow'', a short story, Lynx Eye, Volume X Number 4 Fall 2003 * ''Gretle'', a short story, Wascana Review, Volume 36, Number 2 Fall, 2001

Critical acclaim

''Doctor Olaf van Schuler's Brain'' was a finalist for the Northern California Book Award. It was selected as one of 2008’s best books by the Sun Sentinel Books editor, Chauncey Mabe and was included in Chicago Time Out’s “Top 10 for 2008” as well as SEED Magazine’s top picks for 2008. Several of her short stories have been short-listed for awards, including the Richard Yates Award, the Glimmer Train Short Story Award for New Writers, the Iowa Review Story Contest, and the Andre Dubus Award.Author website
retrieved 12 September 2010

References

External links

Author's website

Author's brain blog

* Podcast of author from Rick Kleffel’s “Bookotron” radio show
Part OnePart Two
;Reviews of ''Doctor Olaf van Schuler’s Brain'' * �

” a review by Carolyn See for the ''

Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...

'' * �
Odd, intriguing stories of quacks and cures
” a review by Eric Grunwald for the ''

Boston Globe ''The Boston Globe'' is an American daily newspaper founded and based in Boston, Massachusetts. The newspaper has won a total of 27 Pulitzer Prizes, and has a total circulation of close to 300,000 print and digital subscribers. ''The Boston Glob ...

'' * �
Annals of Malpractice
” a review by Francesca Mari for the ''

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

'' * �
Gadzooks! The human brain!
�� a review by Jack Booch for the '' Vancouver Voice'' * �
Hysteria, insanity--it's all in the family
” a review by Vanessa Hua for the ''

San Francisco Chronicle The ''San Francisco Chronicle'' is a newspaper serving primarily the San Francisco Bay Area of Northern California. It was founded in 1865 as ''The Daily Dramatic Chronicle'' by teenage brothers Charles de Young and M. H. de Young, Michael H. de ...

'' * �
Book Review: Doctor Olaf van Schuler's Brain
” a review by Robert Duffer for ''Chicago Time Out'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Menger-Anderson, Kirsten 1969 births Living people 21st-century American novelists American women novelists American women short story writers Writers from Santa Cruz, California Haverford College alumni San Francisco State University alumni 21st-century American women writers 21st-century American short story writers