Kirsten Bakis (born 1968 Switzerland) is an American

novelist A novelist is an author or writer of novels, though often novelists also write in other genres of both fiction and non-fiction. Some novelists are professional novelists, thus make a living writing novels and other fiction, while others aspire to ...

Biography

Bakis was raised in

Westchester County, New York Westchester County is located in the U.S. state of New York. It is the seventh most populous county in the State of New York and the most populous north of New York City. According to the 2020 United States Census, the county had a population o ...

, and graduated from

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then-Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin. In 1832, the ...

in 1990. She is a recipient of a Teaching/Writing Fellowship from the

University of Iowa The University of Iowa (UI, U of I, UIowa, or simply Iowa) is a public university, public research university in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. Founded in 1847, it is the oldest and largest university in the state. The University of Iowa is org ...

Writer's Workshop, a grant from the Michener/Copernicus Society of America. She published her first novel, ''

Lives of the Monster Dogs ''Lives of the Monster Dogs'' (1997) is a novel by Kirsten Bakis first published by Farrar, Straus & Giroux Farrar, Straus and Giroux (FSG) is an American book publishing company, founded in 1946 by Roger Williams Straus Jr. and John C. Fa ...

'', in 1997. In 2017, the novel was reissued. She has taught at

Hampshire College Hampshire College is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Amherst, Massachusetts. It was opened in 1970 as an experiment in alternative education, in association with four other colleges ...

and was a writer-in-residence at

Skidmore College Skidmore College is a private liberal arts college in Saratoga Springs, New York. Approximately 2,650 students are enrolled at Skidmore pursuing a Bachelor of Arts or Bachelor of Science degree in one of more than 60 areas of study. History Sk ...

Saratoga Springs 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 ...

, New York in 2005. She is currently living in Croton-on-Hudson, New York with her husband, their two children, and two dogs, and is at work on her second novel.

Critical reception

''Lives of the Monster Dogs'' received mostly positive reviews. Critics praised it for its originality, while also noting some of its drawbacks as science fiction."Kirsten Bakis." Contemporary Authors Online. Detroit: Gale, 2005. Literature Resource Center. Web. 10 June 2014. Following the 2017 reissue, Jeff Vandermeer of ''

The Atlantic ''The Atlantic'' is an American magazine and multi-platform publisher. It features articles in the fields of politics, foreign affairs, business and the economy, culture and the arts, technology, and science. It was founded in 1857 in Boston, ...

'' writes, "20 years later, as it gets a much-deserved reissue, ''Lives of the Monster Dogs'' feels undeniably like a classic." Tobias Carroll of ''

Tor.com ''Tor.com'' is an online science fiction and fantasy magazine published by Tor Books, a division of Macmillan Publishers. The magazine publishes articles, reviews, original short fiction, re-reads and commentary on speculative fiction. From 20 ...

'' writes in 2017, "The novel opens with a nearly perfect first line: "In the years since the monster dogs were here with us, in New York, I’ve often been asked to write something about the time I spent with them."" Sharona Lin of ''

Guernica Guernica (, ), official name (reflecting the Basque language) Gernika (), is a town in the province of Biscay, in the Autonomous Community of the Basque Country, Spain. The town of Guernica is one part (along with neighbouring Lumo) of the mu ...

'' writes in 2020, "It’s a wild and fantastical tale with all the hallmarks of a gothic classic: there’s a mad Prussian scientist, a secretive village, an existential crisis, a pondering of what it truly means to be human."

Awards

* 2004 Whiting Award for fiction * ''New York Times'' Notable Book for the year, for ''Lives of the Monster Dogs'' *

Orange Prize for Fiction 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 ...

shortlisted, for ''Lives of the Monster Dogs'' *

Bram Stoker Award for Best First Novel The Bram Stoker Award for First Novel is an award presented by the Horror Writers Association (HWA) for "superior achievement" in horror writing for an author's first horror novel. Winners and nominees References {{Bram Stoker Award Firs ...

, for ''Lives of the Monster Dogs''

Works

Novels

* ''

'',

Farrar, Straus & Giroux Farrar, Straus and Giroux (FSG) is an American book publishing company, founded in 1946 by Roger Williams Straus Jr. and John C. Farrar. FSG is known for publishing literary books, and its authors have won numerous awards, including Pulitzer ...

, 1997

Short ficiton

References

External links

Official website

Profile at The Whiting Foundation
Living people Swiss emigrants to the United States New York University alumni American women novelists Iowa Writers' Workshop alumni 1967 births 20th-century American novelists 20th-century American women writers 21st-century American women writers {{US-novelist-1960s-stub