Kansas State Author Wins Fiction Prize

Katherine Karlin, an assistant professor of English at Kansas State University, received the Balcones Fiction Prize from the Austin Community College Creative Writing Program for her book Send Me Work (Northwestern University Press). The book is a collection of fictional stories about working women in America.

Stories range from a struggling young woman in post-Katrina New Orleans who learns to weld; an orchestra oboist who listens to the confessions of her beloved teacher; and an idealistic aerobics instructor who leaves her home to pick coffee in revolution-era Nicaragua.

“Katy Karlin’s work has received numerous accolades, but winning the Balcones Fiction Prize establishes her as a key voice in contemporary fiction,” said Karin Westman, chair of Kansas State’s department of English.

Dr. Karlin earned a master of fine arts degree from the University of Pittsburgh. She holds a Ph.D. from the University of Southern California.