Karen Russell (born July 10, 1981) is an American novelist and short story writer. Her

debut novel A debut novel is the first novel a novelist publishes. Debut novels are often the author's first opportunity to make an impact on the publishing industry, and thus the success or failure of a debut novel can affect the ability of the author to p ...

, ''

Swamplandia! ''Swamplandia!'' is a 2011 novel by the American writer Karen Russell. The novel is set in the Ten Thousand Islands, off the southwest coast of Florida, it tells the story of the Bigtree family of alligator wrestlers who live in Swamplandia! an ...

'', was a finalist for the 2012 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction. In 2009 the

National Book Foundation The National Book Foundation (NBF) is an American nonprofit organization established, "to raise the cultural appreciation of great writing in America". Established in 1989 by National Book Awards, Inc.,Edwin McDowell. "Book Notes: 'The Joy Luc ...

named Russell a 5 under 35 honoree. She was also the recipient of a

MacArthur Foundation The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation is a private foundation that makes grants and impact investments to support non-profit organizations in approximately 50 countries around the world. It has an endowment of $7.0 billion and p ...

"Genius Grant" in 2013.

Early life

After graduating from

Coral Gables Senior High School Coral Gables Senior High School is a secondary school located at 450 Bird Road in Coral Gables, Florida. Coral Gables SHS opened its doors in 1950; its architectural design reflects a Spanish influence, with open courtyards adorned with water fo ...

Miami, Florida Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a East Coast of the United States, coastal metropolis and the County seat, county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade C ...

in 1999, Russell received a BA in

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Cana ...

from

Northwestern University Northwestern University is a private research university in Evanston, Illinois. Founded in 1851, Northwestern is the oldest chartered university in Illinois and is ranked among the most prestigious academic institutions in the world. Charte ...

in 2003. She graduated from the MFA program at

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...

in 2006. A Miami native, as of 2019 she resides in

Portland, Oregon Portland (, ) is a port city in the Pacific Northwest and the largest city in the U.S. state of Oregon. Situated at the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers, Portland is the county seat of Multnomah County, the most populous co ...

, with her husband, editor Tony Perez, and two children. Her brother,

Kent Russell Kent Russell is an American writer. He has written books and magazine pieces, with essays appearing in such publications as ''GQ Magazine, Harper's Magazine, n+1 The Believer,'' and ''The New Republic''. Career Russell is best known for his debu ...

, is also a writer.

Career and awards

Russell's stories have been featured in ''

The Best American Short Stories The Best American Short Stories yearly anthology is a part of ''The Best American Series'' published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. Since 1915, the BASS anthology has striven to contain the best short stories by some of the best-known writers in con ...

'', '' Conjunctions'', ''

Granta ''Granta'' is a literary magazine and publisher in the United Kingdom whose mission centres on its "belief in the power and urgency of the story, both in fiction and non-fiction, and the story’s supreme ability to describe, illuminate and ma ...

'', ''

The New Yorker ''The New Yorker'' is an American weekly magazine featuring journalism, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons, and poetry. Founded as a weekly in 1925, the magazine is published 47 times annually, with five of these issues ...

'', ''

Oxford American The ''Oxford American'' is a quarterly magazine that focuses on the American South. First publication The magazine was begun in late 1989 in Oxford, Mississippi, by Marc Smirnoff (born July 11, 1963). The name "Oxford American" is a play on ''T ...

'', and ''

Zoetrope A zoetrope is one of several pre-film animation devices that produce the illusion of motion by displaying a sequence of drawings or photographs showing progressive phases of that motion. It was basically a cylindrical variation of the phénak ...

''. She was named a

"5 Under 35" young writer honoree at the November 2009 ceremony for her first short story collection, ''St. Lucy's Home for Girls Raised by Wolves'', for which Russell won the Bard Fiction Prize in 2011. Russell's second book and

first novel A debut novel is the first novel a novelist publishes. Debut novels are often the author's first opportunity to make an impact on the publishing industry, and thus the success or failure of a debut novel can affect the ability of the author to pu ...

, ''

'', about a family of alligator wrestlers and their shabby amusement park in the Everglades was long-listed for the 2011

Orange Prize The Women's Prize for Fiction (previously with sponsor names Orange Prize for Fiction (1996–2006 and 2009–12), Orange Broadband Prize for Fiction (2007–08) and Baileys Women's Prize for Fiction (2014–2017)) is one of the United Kingdom's m ...

. The novel was also included in T''he New York Times''' "10 Best Books of 2011" and won the New York Public Library's 2012

Young Lions Fiction Award The Young Lions Fiction Award is an annual US literary prize of $10,000, awarded to a writer who is 35 years old or younger for a novel or collection of short stories. The award was established in 2001 by Ethan Hawke, Jennifer Rudolph Walsh, Rick ...

. ''Swamplandia!'' was a finalist for the 2012

Pulitzer Prize for Fiction The Pulitzer Prize for Fiction is one of the seven American Pulitzer Prizes that are annually awarded for Letters, Drama, and Music. It recognizes distinguished fiction by an American author, preferably dealing with American life, published during ...

; however, none of the three finalists received enough votes, and no prize was awarded. Russell's second collection of short stories, ''Vampires in the Lemon Grove,'' was published by

Vintage Contemporaries Vintage Books is a trade paperback publishing imprint of Penguin Random House originally established by Alfred A. Knopf in 1954. The company was purchased by Random House in April 1960, and a British division was set up in 1990. After Random Hous ...

in February 2013. Her third short story collection, ''

Orange World and Other Stories ''Orange World and Other Stories'' (2019) is a collection of seven short stories written by the American writer Karen Russell. The collection was published by Alfred A. Knopf in May 2019. Critical reception According to the review aggregator, Boo ...

,'' was released in May 2019. Her short story "The Hox River Window," published in '' Zoetrope: All-Story'', won the 2012

National Magazine Award The National Magazine Awards, also known as the Ellie Awards, honor print and digital publications that consistently demonstrate superior execution of editorial objectives, innovative techniques, noteworthy enterprise and imaginative design. Or ...

for fiction. She is the recipient of the Mary Ellen von der Heyden Berlin Prize and was awarded a fellowship at the

American Academy in Berlin The American Academy in Berlin is a private, independent, nonpartisan research and cultural institution in Berlin dedicated to sustaining and enhancing the long-term intellectual, cultural, and political ties between the United States and Germany ...

for Spring 2012. "Reeling for the Empire" won the

Shirley Jackson Award The Shirley Jackson Awards are literary awards named after Shirley Jackson in recognition of her legacy in writing. These awards for outstanding achievement in the literature of psychological suspense, horror and the dark fantastic are presented ...

for Best Novelette of 2012. In 2013, Russell received a MacArthur Foundation "Genius Grant." In 2010 Russell spent time as a visiting writer at the

Iowa Writers' Workshop The Iowa Writers' Workshop, at the University of Iowa, is a celebrated graduate-level creative writing program in the United States. The writer Lan Samantha Chang is its director. Graduates earn a Master of Fine Arts (MFA) degree in Creative Wri ...

. She later served as an artist in residence at

Yaddo Yaddo is an artists' community located on a estate in Saratoga Springs, New York. Its mission is "to nurture the creative process by providing an opportunity for artists to work without interruption in a supportive environment.". On March ...

Saratoga Springs, NY Saratoga Springs is a city in Saratoga County, New York, United States. The population was 28,491 at the 2020 census. The name reflects the presence of mineral springs in the area, which has made Saratoga a popular resort destination for over 2 ...

. In Fall 2013, Russell was a distinguished guest teacher of creative writing in the MFA program at

Rutgers University-Camden Rutgers University (; RU), officially Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, is a public land-grant research university consisting of four campuses in New Jersey. Chartered in 1766, Rutgers was originally called Queen's College, and was ...

. Russell has been the Endowed Chair in Creative Writing at

Texas State University Texas State University is a public research university in San Marcos, Texas. Since its establishment in 1899, the university has grown to the second largest university in the Greater Austin metropolitan area and the fifth largest university ...

’s MFA program since 2017.

Bibliography

Novels

Short fiction

;Collections * * * ;Stories

Non-fiction

* Title in the online table of contents is "Can video games help stroke victims?".

References

External links

Random House Author Page

2011 podcast interview
at

The Bat Segundo Show ''The Bat Segundo Show'' was a podcast based in New York City run by writer and literary critic Edward Champion between 2004 and 2012. It was revived in mid-2013. The program features comprehensive interviews with prominent figures in arts and ...

"A Conversation with Karen Russell about her first novel, Swamplandia!"
''BookBrowse''

''In the Labyrinth'', June 16, 2010
"20 Under 40: Q. & A.Karen Russell"
''The New Yorker'', June 14, 2010 * *

Short Stories

Haunting Olivia
* ttp://recommendedreading.tumblr.com/post/43561524775/the-graveless-doll-of-eric-mutis-by-karen-russell The Graveless Doll of Eric Mutis {{DEFAULTSORT:Russell, Karen 1981 births Living people 21st-century American novelists 21st-century American short story writers 21st-century American women writers American fantasy writers American women novelists American women short story writers Columbia University School of the Arts alumni MacArthur Fellows Northwestern University alumni The New Yorker people Women science fiction and fantasy writers Writers from Miami Novelists from Florida