Karen Bender

Biography

Karen E. Bender is the author of two story collections—Refund, which was a finalist for the National Book Award, shortlisted for the Frank O'Connor International Story Prize, and longlisted for the Story Prize—and The New Order, longlisted for the Story Prize. A third collection, The Words of Dr. L & Other Stories, will be published in May 2025. Her stories have been published in magazines including The New Yorker, Granta, The Yale Review, The Harvard Review, Ploughshares, and Zoetrope, and have been anthologized in Best American Short Stories and Best American Mystery Stories. They have won three Pushcart Prizes. She has taught for the MFA programs at Hollins University, Warren Wilson College, and Chatham University, and currently teaches for the MFA programs at SUNY Stony Brook and Alma College. She also teaches for the Iowa Summer Writing Festival online and for WritingWorkshops.com. Her website is http://www.karenebender.com.   

Events

Karen Bender photo

Finding Your Story: A Generative Fiction Boot Camp

When
-
Presenters
Event status
Scheduled
Attendance Required
No
Description
This is a class for beginning fiction writers who want to learn the tools to create a short story or novel chapter they’ve always wanted to write, or advanced students who want to hone their craft tools and dive into a new work. Each day, we’ll introduce you to a craft element—sensory detail, dialogue, scene, and plot. We’ll discuss some examples of work by published writers to see how they use these craft elements. We’ll do generative work during class practicing this craft tool as well, and there will be opportunities to share them if you’d like. Over the course of the week, you’ll work on a two-page opening to your story, and you’ll share it with the class on the last day, where you’ll get some ideas for development. During our conference, we’ll discuss strategies for expanding your work into a longer story or novel. You’ll finish the week with a strong start to the work you’ve always been waiting to write, and ideas on how to move forward with it. In this workshop, we will generate new writing through guided exercises and prompts; offer feedback/first impressions on writing you produce in our week; workshop writing you bring from home.
Karen Bender photo

Difficult People: Characters You Can't Stop Reading About

When
-
Presenters
Event status
Scheduled
Attendance Required
No
Description
Who are the characters you really want to read about? Not the well-behaved ones, but the scoundrels: the characters you love to hate and really want to follow. In this workshop for fiction writers at any level, we will discuss some stories and novel excerpts that feature characters who are flawed—the transgressors, the obsessives, and more—see how they work on the page, and develop some memorable characters of our own. We will do generative exercises in which you can explore different types of compelling characters. Students will receive a one- to two-page homework assignment on Saturday, and can share characters they create with the class on Sunday; we will do generative work both days. In this workshop, we will generate new writing through guided exercises and prompts; offer feedback/first impressions on writing you produce in our weekend.
Karen Bender photo