Kelly Link
Encyclopedia
Kelly Link is an American
editor and author of short stories
. While some of her fiction falls more clearly within genre categories, many of her stories might be described as slipstream or magic realism
: a combination of science fiction
, fantasy
, horror
, mystery
, and realism
. Among other honors, she has won a Hugo award
, three Nebula awards, and a World Fantasy Award
for her fiction.
Link is a graduate of Columbia University
in New York and the MFA program of UNC Greensboro. In 1995, she attended the Clarion East Writing Workshop
.
Link and husband Gavin Grant
manage Small Beer Press
, based in Northampton, Massachusetts
. The couple's imprint of Small Beer Press for intermediate readers is called Big Mouth House. They also co-edit St. Martin's Press
's Year's Best Fantasy and Horror
anthology series with Ellen Datlow
. (The couple inherited the "fantasy" side from Terri Windling
in 2004.) Link was also the slush
reader for Sci Fiction
, edited by Datlow.
Link taught at Lenoir-Rhyne College
in Hickory, North Carolina
, with the Visiting Writers Series for spring semester 2006. She has taught or visited at a number of schools and workshops including Bard College
, Annandale-on-Hudson, New York
; Brookdale Community College
, Lincroft, New Jersey
; the Imagination Workshop at Cleveland State University
; New England Institute of Art & Communications, Brookline, Massachusetts
; Clarion East at Michigan State University
; and Clarion West in Seattle, Washington
. She has participated in the Juniper Summer Writing Institute at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst's MFA Program for Poets & Writers
.
Link currently teaches a course on Short Story Writing to undergraduates at Smith College
, near her home in Northampton.
In addition, Link and Grant have edited a semiannual small press
fantasy magazine: Lady Churchill's Rosebud Wristlet
(or LCRW) since 1997. An anthology, The Best of Lady Churchill's Rosebud Wristlet, was published by Del Rey Books
in 2007.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
editor and author of short stories
Short Stories
Short Stories may refer to:*A plural for Short story*Short Stories , an American pulp magazine published from 1890-1959*Short Stories, a 1954 collection by O. E...
. While some of her fiction falls more clearly within genre categories, many of her stories might be described as slipstream or magic realism
Magic realism
Magic realism or magical realism is an aesthetic style or genre of fiction in which magical elements blend with the real world. The story explains these magical elements as real occurrences, presented in a straightforward manner that places the "real" and the "fantastic" in the same stream of...
: a combination of science fiction
Science fiction
Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
, fantasy
Fantasy
Fantasy is a genre of fiction that commonly uses magic and other supernatural phenomena as a primary element of plot, theme, or setting. Many works within the genre take place in imaginary worlds where magic is common...
, horror
Horror fiction
Horror fiction also Horror fantasy is a philosophy of literature, which is intended to, or has the capacity to frighten its readers, inducing feelings of horror and terror. It creates an eerie atmosphere. Horror can be either supernatural or non-supernatural...
, mystery
Mystery fiction
Mystery fiction is a loosely-defined term.1.It is often used as a synonym for detective fiction or crime fiction— in other words a novel or short story in which a detective investigates and solves a crime mystery. Sometimes mystery books are nonfiction...
, and realism
Realism (arts)
Realism in the visual arts and literature refers to the general attempt to depict subjects "in accordance with secular, empirical rules", as they are considered to exist in third person objective reality, without embellishment or interpretation...
. Among other honors, she has won a Hugo award
Hugo Award
The Hugo Awards are given annually for the best science fiction or fantasy works and achievements of the previous year. The award is named after Hugo Gernsback, the founder of the pioneering science fiction magazine Amazing Stories, and was officially named the Science Fiction Achievement Awards...
, three Nebula awards, and a World Fantasy Award
World Fantasy Award
The World Fantasy Awards are annual, international awards given to authors and artists who have demonstrated outstanding achievement in the field of fantasy...
for her fiction.
Link is a graduate of Columbia University
Columbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
in New York and the MFA program of UNC Greensboro. In 1995, she attended the Clarion East Writing Workshop
Clarion Workshop
Clarion is a six-week workshop for new and aspiring science fiction and fantasy writers. Originally an outgrowth of Knight and Wilhelm's Milford Writers' Conference, held at their home in Milford, Pennsylvania, USA, it was founded in 1968 by Robin Scott Wilson at Clarion State College in...
.
Link and husband Gavin Grant
Gavin Grant
Gavin J. Grant is a science fiction editor and writer. He runs Small Beer Press along with his wife Kelly Link. In addition, he has been the editor of Lady Churchill's Rosebud Wristlet since 1996 and, from 2003 to 2008, was co-editor of the Year's Best Fantasy and Horror anthology series along with...
manage Small Beer Press
Small Beer Press
Small Beer Press is a publisher of fantasy and literary fiction, based in Northampton, Massachusetts. It was founded by Gavin Grant and Kelly Link in 2000 and publishes novels, collections, and anthologies. It also publishes the zine Lady Churchill's Rosebud Wristlet, chapbooks, the Peapod Classics...
, based in Northampton, Massachusetts
Northampton, Massachusetts
The city of Northampton is the county seat of Hampshire County, Massachusetts, United States. As of the 2010 census, the population of Northampton's central neighborhoods, was 28,549...
. The couple's imprint of Small Beer Press for intermediate readers is called Big Mouth House. They also co-edit St. Martin's Press
St. Martin's Press
St. Martin's Press is a book publisher headquartered in the Flatiron Building in New York City. Currently, St. Martin's Press is one of the United States' largest publishers, bringing to the public some 700 titles a year under eight imprints, which include St. Martin's Press , St...
's Year's Best Fantasy and Horror
Year's Best Fantasy and Horror
Year's Best Fantasy and Horror is a reprint anthology published annually by St. Martin's Press. In addition to the short stories, supplemented by a list of honorable mentions, each edition includes a number of retrospective essays by the editors and others....
anthology series with Ellen Datlow
Ellen Datlow
Ellen Datlow is an American science fiction, fantasy, and horror editor and anthologist.-Biography:Datlow was the fiction editor of Omni magazine and Omni Online from 1981 through 1998, and edited the ten associated Omni anthologies...
. (The couple inherited the "fantasy" side from Terri Windling
Terri Windling
Terri Windling is an American editor, artist, essayist, and the author of books for both children and adults. Windling has won nine World Fantasy Awards, the Mythopoeic Award, the Bram Stoker Award, and her collection The Armless Maiden appeared on the short-list for the James Tiptree, Jr. Award...
in 2004.) Link was also the slush
Slush pile
In publishing, the slush pile is the set of unsolicited query letters or manuscripts sent either directly to the publisher or literary agent by authors, or to the publisher by an agent not known to the publisher....
reader for Sci Fiction
Sci Fiction
Sci Fiction was an online magazine which ran from 2000 to 2005. At one time, it was the leading online science fiction magazine. Published by Syfy and edited by Ellen Datlow, the work won multiple awards before it was discontinued.- History :...
, edited by Datlow.
Link taught at Lenoir-Rhyne College
Lenoir-Rhyne College
Lenoir–Rhyne University is a co-educational, private liberal arts university founded in 1891 and located in Hickory, North Carolina, USA. The university is affiliated with the North Carolina Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America ....
in Hickory, North Carolina
Hickory, North Carolina
Hickory is a city in Catawba County, North Carolina. Hickory has the 162nd largest urban area in the United States. As of the 2000 census, the Metropolitan Statistical Area had a population of 341,851, making it the 4th largest metropolitan area in North Carolina. The city's population was 37,222...
, with the Visiting Writers Series for spring semester 2006. She has taught or visited at a number of schools and workshops including Bard College
Bard College
Bard College, founded in 1860 as "St. Stephen's College", is a small four-year liberal arts college located in Annandale-on-Hudson, New York.-Location:...
, Annandale-on-Hudson, New York
Annandale-on-Hudson, New York
Annandale-on-Hudson is a hamlet in Dutchess County, New York, USA, in the Hudson Valley in the town of Red Hook, across the Hudson River from Kingston....
; Brookdale Community College
Brookdale Community College
Brookdale Community College is an accredited coeducational public community college in Lincroft, Monmouth County, New Jersey. Brookdale Community College was founded in 1967 and has Higher Education Centers in Neptune, Freehold, Hazlet, Long Branch, Sandy Hook, and Wall.Brookdale is an...
, Lincroft, New Jersey
Lincroft, New Jersey
Lincroft is a part of Middletown Township, in Monmouth County, New Jersey. As of the 2010 United States Census, the Lincroft census-designated place had a population was 6,135.-Geography:Lincroft is located at ....
; the Imagination Workshop at Cleveland State University
Cleveland State University
Cleveland State University is a public university located in downtown Cleveland, Ohio. It was established in 1964 when the state of Ohio assumed control of Fenn College, and it absorbed the Cleveland-Marshall College of Law in 1969...
; New England Institute of Art & Communications, Brookline, Massachusetts
Brookline, Massachusetts
Brookline is a town in Norfolk County, Massachusetts, United States, which borders on the cities of Boston and Newton. As of the 2010 census, the population of the town was 58,732.-Etymology:...
; Clarion East at Michigan State University
Michigan State University
Michigan State University is a public research university in East Lansing, Michigan, USA. Founded in 1855, it was the pioneer land-grant institution and served as a model for future land-grant colleges in the United States under the 1862 Morrill Act.MSU pioneered the studies of packaging,...
; and Clarion West in Seattle, Washington
Seattle, Washington
Seattle is the county seat of King County, Washington. With 608,660 residents as of the 2010 Census, Seattle is the largest city in the Northwestern United States. The Seattle metropolitan area of about 3.4 million inhabitants is the 15th largest metropolitan area in the country...
. She has participated in the Juniper Summer Writing Institute at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst's MFA Program for Poets & Writers
MFA Program for Poets & Writers
The MFA Program for Poets & Writers at the University of Massachusetts Amherst is a graduate creative writing program.-History:The MFA Program for Poets & Writers was founded in the 1960s by poet Joseph Langland and is part of the English Department at the University of Massachusetts...
.
Link currently teaches a course on Short Story Writing to undergraduates at Smith College
Smith College
Smith College is a private, independent women's liberal arts college located in Northampton, Massachusetts. It is the largest member of the Seven Sisters...
, near her home in Northampton.
Books
- Stranger Things Happen: SalonSalon.comSalon.com, part of Salon Media Group , often just called Salon, is an online liberal magazine, with content updated each weekday. Salon was founded by David Talbot and launched on November 20, 1995. It was the internet's first online-only commercial publication. The magazine focuses on U.S...
Book of the YearSalon Book AwardsSalon Book Awards is an annual literary award given by the editors of Salon.com to fiction and nonfiction books published the previous year. The editors' criteria for winning books are:The award was established in 1996.-Winners of Salon Book Awards:...
, Village Voice favorite (available here as a free download, under a Creative CommonsCreative CommonsCreative Commons is a non-profit organization headquartered in Mountain View, California, United States devoted to expanding the range of creative works available for others to build upon legally and to share. The organization has released several copyright-licenses known as Creative Commons...
license) - Magic for BeginnersMagic for BeginnersMagic for Beginners is a collection of nine works of fantasy and light horror short fiction by Kelly Link. The stories were all previously published in other venues from 2002 to 2005.The book won the 2006 Locus Award for best short story collection...
: 2006 Locus AwardLocus AwardThe Locus Award is a literary award established in 1971 and presented to winners of Locus magazine's annual readers' poll. Currently, the Locus Awards are presented at an annual banquet...
for best short story collection (available here as a free download, under a Creative CommonsCreative CommonsCreative Commons is a non-profit organization headquartered in Mountain View, California, United States devoted to expanding the range of creative works available for others to build upon legally and to share. The organization has released several copyright-licenses known as Creative Commons...
license) - Pretty Monsters: 2008 World Fantasy and Locus Award finalist.
Selected stories (award winners)
- "Pretty Monsters": 2009 Locus AwardLocus AwardThe Locus Award is a literary award established in 1971 and presented to winners of Locus magazine's annual readers' poll. Currently, the Locus Awards are presented at an annual banquet...
for Best NovellaNovellaA novella is a written, fictional, prose narrative usually longer than a novelette but shorter than a novel. The Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America Nebula Awards for science fiction define the novella as having a word count between 17,500 and 40,000... - "Magic for Beginners": 2005 Nebula AwardNebula AwardThe Nebula Award is given each year by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America , for the best science fiction/fantasy fiction published in the United States during the previous year...
for Best NovellaNovellaA novella is a written, fictional, prose narrative usually longer than a novelette but shorter than a novel. The Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America Nebula Awards for science fiction define the novella as having a word count between 17,500 and 40,000... - "The Faery HandbagThe Faery Handbag"The Faery Handbag" is a fantasy novelette published in 2004 by Kelly Link. It was the winner of the 2005 Hugo Award for Best Novelette, the 2006 Nebula Award for Best Novelette and the 2005 Locus Award.-Plot summary:...
": 2005 HugoHugo AwardThe Hugo Awards are given annually for the best science fiction or fantasy works and achievements of the previous year. The award is named after Hugo Gernsback, the founder of the pioneering science fiction magazine Amazing Stories, and was officially named the Science Fiction Achievement Awards...
and Nebula Award for Best NoveletteNoveletteA novelette is a piece of short prose fiction. The distinction between a novelette and other literary forms is usually based upon word count, with a novelette being longer than a short story, but shorter than a novella...
, Locus AwardLocus AwardThe Locus Award is a literary award established in 1971 and presented to winners of Locus magazine's annual readers' poll. Currently, the Locus Awards are presented at an annual banquet...
winner - "Stone Animals": 2005 Best American Short StoriesBest American Short StoriesThe 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 contemporary American literature.-Edward O'Brien:The...
- "Louise's Ghost": 2001 Nebula Award for Best NoveletteNebula Award for Best NoveletteWinners of the Nebula Award for best Novelette. The stated year is that of publication; awards are given in the following year. Winning titles are listed first, with other nominees listed below.-External links:* * *...
- "The Specialist's Hat": 1999 World Fantasy AwardWorld Fantasy AwardThe World Fantasy Awards are annual, international awards given to authors and artists who have demonstrated outstanding achievement in the field of fantasy...
- "Travels with the Snow Queen": 1997 James Tiptree, Jr. AwardJames Tiptree, Jr. AwardThe James Tiptree, Jr. Award is an annual literary prize for works of science fiction or fantasy that expand or explore one's understanding of gender. It was initiated in February of 1991 by science fiction authors Pat Murphy and Karen Joy Fowler, subsequent to a discussion at WisCon.- Background...
As author
- 4 Stories (chapbookChapbookA chapbook is a pocket-sized booklet. The term chap-book was formalized by bibliophiles of the 19th century, as a variety of ephemera , popular or folk literature. It includes many kinds of printed material such as pamphlets, political and religious tracts, nursery rhymes, poetry, folk tales,...
), Small Beer Press, 2000 - Stranger Things Happen, Small Beer Press, 2001
- Magic For Beginners, Small Beer Press, 2005, reprinted by Harcourt, 2005
- Catskin: a swaddled zine, Jelly Ink Press, date unknown
- Pretty Monsters: Stories, Viking Juvenile, 2008
As editor
- Trampoline Small Beer Press, 2003
- The Year's Best Fantasy and Horror volume 17– (with Ellen Datlow and Gavin J. Grant) St. Martin's Press, 2004–
In addition, Link and Grant have edited a semiannual small press
Small press
Small press is a term often used to describe publishers with annual sales below a certain level. Commonly, in the United States, this is set at $50 million, after returns and discounts...
fantasy magazine: Lady Churchill's Rosebud Wristlet
Lady Churchill's Rosebud Wristlet
Lady Churchill's Rosebud Wristlet is a twice-yearly small press zine published by Small Beer Press, edited by Gavin Grant and Kelly Link. It contains an eclectic mix of fiction, poetry, and nonfiction, with an emphasis on speculative fiction, fantasy or slipstream. Link, Karen Joy Fowler, and...
(or LCRW) since 1997. An anthology, The Best of Lady Churchill's Rosebud Wristlet, was published by Del Rey Books
Del Rey Books
Del Rey Books is a branch of Ballantine Books, which is owned by Random House and, in turn since 1998, by Bertelsmann AG. It is a separate imprint established in 1977 under the editorship of author Lester del Rey and his wife Judy-Lynn del Rey. It specializes in science fiction and fantasy...
in 2007.
External links
- Kelly Link official website
- Lady Churchill's Rosebud Wristlet
- Kelly Link's awards and nominations at the Locus Index to Science Fiction Awards
- Essay on Link's story "Lull" at Fantastic Metropolis
- RealAudio Interview from KCRW's Bookworm show
- An excerpt from Origin Story from the magazine A Public SpaceA Public SpaceA Public Space is a quarterly English-language literary magazine based in Brooklyn, New York. First published in April 2006. A Public Space publishes fiction, poetry, essays and art...
- Reading by Kelly from the Stonecoast MFA program's Winter 2008 residency