Karen Stevens

Senior Lecturer in Creative Writing

About

Karen Stevens is a Senior Lecturer in Creative Writing at the University of Chichester. She has a special interest in creative writing pedagogy, working-class fiction, the short story, the contemporary novel, and fiction for children.

She has published widely, including the edited anthology Writing a First Novel (Palgrave, 2014), the short story collection High Spirits (Valley Press, 2019), a chapter in Evolving Strategies for Writing Feedback on Creative Manuscripts (Routledge, 2026), and her debut collection of short stories Brilliant Blue (Barbican Press, 2025). Her edited anthology of essays Writing and the Critical Commentary is forthcoming with Bloomsbury Academic in 2026.

In addition, she has won several awards for her fiction, most recently placing as runner-up in the prestigious ALCS Tom-Gallon Trust Award 2023 (Society of Authors). Her short fiction, reviews, articles, and interviews have appeared online and in a wide range of anthologies and magazines.

She is a member of the Society of Authors and NAWE (National Association of Writers in Education) and is committed to forging strong connections between the university and the publishing industry.

Awards

Runner-up in the ALCS Tom-Gallon Trust Award (Society of Authors)
Winner of the Lancaster Short Story Competition
Winner of the Fish Publishing Very Short Story Competition
Twice shortlisted for the Adventures in Fiction scheme
Shortlisted for The Daily Mail Novel Writing Competition 2009, judged by Fay Weldon and Shena McKay.

Teaching

Level 4: Creating Characters
Level 4: The Writer’s Notebook
Level 5: Introduction to Writing Short Fiction
Level 5: Prose fiction: the Dynamic of Change
Level 5: Fiction for Children
Level 6: Undergraduate Dissertation (module co-ordinator)
MA: The Writing Studio
MA: Launching the Manuscript
MA: Dissertation
PhD Supervision

Research Output

Articles

Stevens, K. and Bedford, J. (2025) Interview: Karen Stevens on characterisation, class and ‘Brilliant Blue'. Interview: Karen Stevens on characterisation, class and ‘Brilliant Blue’. p. 1.

Stevens, K. (2015) Writing a First Novel: Author Interview. Everybody's Reviewing.

Stevens, K. (2014) Place and the Elusive Sense of Belonging. Jane Rusbridge.

Stevens, K. (2012) Book Review: New World Orders in Contemporary Children's Literature: Utopian Transformations. Gramarye: The Journal of the Sussex Centre for Folklore, Fairy Tales and Fantasy, Spring (1). pp. 69-70. ISSN 2050-2915

Stevens, K. (2011) Balancing Authority with Imagination: Reflections on the Challenge of Teaching in Higher Education. Writing in Education, 53. pp. 30-32. ISSN 1361-8539

Stevens, K. (2010) The Visit. Riptide: Short Stories with an Undercurrent, 5.

Book Sections

Stevens, K. (2025) The writing workshop: teaching students to rest easy with uncertainty. In: Evolving Strategies For Writing Feedback on Creative Manuscripts: A Multi-Genre Pedagogy Guide. Routledge studies in creative writing . Routledge, Oxon, New York, pp. 104-117. ISBN 9781032460734

Stevens, K. (2022) Among the crows. In: Fish Anthology 2022. Fish Publishing, Durrus, Bantry, Co. Cork, pp. 20-30. ISBN 9780995620056

Stevens, K. and Taylor, J. (2018) Introduction. In: High Spirits: A Round of Drinking Stories. Valley Press, Scarborough, UK, pp. 9-36. ISBN 9781912436125

Stevens, K. (2018) Sweden. In: High Spirits: A Round of Drinking Stories. Valley Press, Scarborough, UK, pp. 151-163. ISBN 9781912436125

Stevens, K. (2012) Where You're Heading. In: Overheard: Stories to Read Aloud. Salt, Cromer, UK, pp. 255-261. ISBN 9781907773266

Stevens, K. (2004) The Visit. In: Fish Anthology 2004: Spoonface and Other Stories. Fish Publishing, Bantry, Co. Cork, Ireland. ISBN 0954258622

Conference or Workshop Items

Stevens, K. (2018) Creating a Story. In: Writing workshop: Creating a Story, 05 Mar 2019, Bassil Shippam Centre, Tozer Way, Chichester. (Unpublished)

Stevens, K. and Taylor, J. (2018) High Spirits: A Round of Drinking Stories. In: Word Factory #67 – High Spirits: A Round of Drinking Stories, 16 Feb 2019, Waterstones, Piccadilly, London. (Unpublished)

Stevens, K. and Taylor, J. (2018) High Spirits: A Round Of Drinking Stories. In: NAWE International Conference 2018, 9-11 Nov 2018, York. (Unpublished)

Stevens, K. (2017) Teaching the Wisdom of Uncertainty. In: Great Writing Conference 2017, 1-2 July 2017, Imperial College, London. (Unpublished)

Stevens, K. (2016) Emotion and Place. In: Chichester Writers' Circle, 07 Mar 2016, Bassil Shippam Centre, Chichester. (Unpublished)

Stevens, K. and Taylor, J. (2016) Reflections on the Theoretical Context of co-edited anthology 'Drinking Stories'. In: NAWE International Conference 2016, 11-13 Nov 2016, Stratford Manor, Stratford-upon-Avon. (Unpublished)

Stevens, K. (2016) Picnic in the Park. In: Friends of Queen's Park, 26 June 2016, Brighton. (Unpublished)

Stevens, K. (2015) Digging With Our Pens. In: NAWE International Conference 2015, 13-15 Nov 2015, Radisson Blu Hotel, Durham. (Unpublished)

Stevens, K. (2014) Writing a First Novel. In: Festival of Chichester: Spoken Word, 23 June 2014, Waterstones, Chichester. (Unpublished)

Stevens, K. (2013) The Telling Detail. In: Chichester Writers' Circle, 02 Feb 2014, Bassil Shippam Centre, Chichester. (Unpublished)

Stevens, K. (2013) Character and Setting. In: The Writers' Hub, 04 Sept 2013, New Theatre Royal, Portsmouth. (Unpublished)

Stevens, K. (2013) Reading of Short Story 'Where You're Heading'. In: NAWE International Conference 2013, 15-17 Nov 2013, Park Inn, York. (Unpublished)

Stevens, K. (2012) Creating Authentic Characters. In: Chichester Writers' Circle, 07 Feb 2013, Bassil Shippam Centre, Chichester. (Unpublished)

Stevens, K. (2011) Writing a First Novel: an Editor's Reflections. In: 'First Fictions' Festival and Academic Conference, 19-22 Jan 2012, University of Sussex. (Unpublished)

Stevens, K. (2011) First Fictions: Writing a First Novel. In: First Fictions. Festival and Academic Conference, 19-22 Jan 2012, University of Sussex. (Unpublished)

Stevens, K. (2011) The Creative Space: a Time to Write. In: NAWE International Conference 2011, 11-13 Nov 2011, Northampton Marriott Hotel. (Unpublished)

Stevens, K. (2010) Imagination & authority. In: Creative Writing in Education: NAWE Autumn Conference 2010, 12-14 Nov 2010, Cheltenham Park Hotel, Gloucestershire. (Submitted)

Stevens, K. (2009) Creating authentic characters. In: Great Writing, UK Creative Writing Conference, 19-21 Jun 2009, Bangor Univeristy, Wales. (Submitted)