The MFA in Creative Writing Program will present MacArthur fellow, Pulitzer Prize finalist, and best-selling author Karen Russell on Feb. 12.
On Wednesday, Feb. 12, at 12 p.m., the College of Arts and Sciences' MFA in Creative Writing Program will welcome best-selling author Karen Russell for a livestreamed conversation with Phil Klay, award-winning author and MFA faculty member, at the DiMenna-Nyselius Library. This free event, open to the public, can be attended in-person at the DiMenna Nyselius Library Auditorium or virtually via Zoom.
Part of the Inspired Writers Series, this event serves as a companion to the MFA in Creative Writing program, offering engaging discussions with top authors. Designed to inform, inspire, and entertain, the series provides invaluable insight for writers while welcoming all participants into thought-provoking literary conversations.
Known for her uniquely fantastical and deeply moving fiction, Russell has captivated readers with her masterful storytelling, seamlessly blending the magical with the intimate. Russell is the author of Swamplandia! and Vampires in the Lemon Grove. Her fiction has earned numerous accolades, including two National Magazine Awards, the Shirley Jackson Award, the 2023 Bottari Lattes Grinzane Prize, and the 2024 Mary McCarthy Award. Her work has appeared in The New Yorker, The New York Times, Harper’s, and The Best American Short Stories series. She also co-created The Night Falls, one of The New York Times’ Best Dance Performances of 2023, and her story Proving Up was adapted into an acclaimed opera, with a new opera premiering in 2025.
A former visiting professor at the Iowa Writer’s Workshop, Columbia University, and Texas State’s MFA program, Russell has shaped the next generation of writers while continuing to push the boundaries of storytelling. Born in Miami and now living in Portland, she will release her highly anticipated new novel, The Antidote, with Knopf in spring 2025.
