k.stevens@chi.ac.uk | 01243 816297

Research/Publications:
Karen has a special interest in the contemporary novel, children’s fiction and short fiction. Her short stories include ‘Fighting for It’ (Water Baby: Panurge New Fiction 1995), ‘His Weight’ (The Big Issue, 1995), ‘The Visit’ (Spoonface, and Other Stories, Fish Publishing 2004), ‘Perfect Symmetry’ (Pulp Net 13 2004- British Arts Council funded web magazine for established and new writers), ‘It is such a new thing’ (The Art of Love 2005 - Londonart.co.uk on-line gallery exhibition of visual artists, writers, poets and musicians.) ‘The Visit’ (Riptide: Short stories with an undercurrent, Vol 5, Dirt Pie Press, 2010), ‘Where You’re Heading’ (Overheard: Stories to Read Aloud, Salt publishing,2012).
Karen also specialises in teaching writing for children and young adults and reviews children’s books for www.writeaway.org.uk. She reviewed ‘New World Orders in Contemporary Children’s Literature in Gramarye: The Journal of the Sussex Centre for Folklore, Fairy Tales and Fantasy (Spring 2012).
Karen gave a keynote lecture at Chichester Festival Theatre on Rudyard Kipling’s Just So Stories and read with Roddy Doyle at The Lonely Page Conference, Queen’s University Belfast 2008. Her edited collection Writing a First Novel: reflections on the journey was published with Palgrave MacMillan in 2013.
Awards:
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.
ChiPrints Repository
Selected Publications
- Stevens, Karen (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, Karen (2015) Writing a First Novel: Author Interview. Everybody's Reviewing.
- Stevens, Karen (2014) Place and the Elusive Sense of Belonging. Jane Rusbridge.
- Stevens, Karen (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, Karen (2012) Where You're Heading. In: Overheard: Stories to Read Aloud. Salt, Cromer, UK, pp. 255-261. ISBN 9781907773266
- Stevens, Karen (2011) First Fictions: Writing a First Novel. In: First Fictions. Festival and Academic Conference, 19-22 Jan 2012, University of Sussex. (Unpublished)
- Stevens, Karen (2013) Reading of Short Story 'Where You're Heading'. In: NAWE International Conference 2013, 15-17 Nov 2013, Park Inn, York. (Unpublished)
- Stevens, Karen (2011) The Creative Space: a Time to Write. In: NAWE International Conference 2011, 11-13 Nov 2011, Northampton Marriott Hotel. (Unpublished)
- Stevens, Karen (2018) Creating a Story. In: Writing workshop: Creating a Story, 05 Mar 2019, Bassil Shippam Centre, Tozer Way, Chichester. (Unpublished)
- Stevens, Karen and Taylor, Jonathan (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, Karen (2012) Creating Authentic Characters. In: Chichester Writers' Circle, 07 Feb 2013, Bassil Shippam Centre, Chichester. (Unpublished)
- Stevens, Karen (2013) Character and Setting. In: The Writers' Hub, 04 Sept 2013, New Theatre Royal, Portsmouth. (Unpublished)
- Stevens, Karen (2014) Writing a First Novel. In: Festival of Chichester: Spoken Word, 23 June 2014, Waterstones, Chichester. (Unpublished)
- Stevens, Karen (2013) The Telling Detail. In: Chichester Writers' Circle, 02 Feb 2014, Bassil Shippam Centre, Chichester. (Unpublished)
- Stevens, Karen (2016) Emotion and Place. In: Chichester Writers' Circle, 07 Mar 2016, Bassil Shippam Centre, Chichester. (Unpublished)
- Stevens, Karen and Taylor, Jonathan (2018) High Spirits: A Round Of Drinking Stories. In: NAWE International Conference 2018, 9-11 Nov 2018, York. (Unpublished)
- Stevens, Karen (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, Karen (2017) Teaching the Wisdom of Uncertainty. In: Great Writing Conference 2017, 1-2 July 2017, Imperial College, London. (Unpublished)
- Stevens, Karen (2015) Digging With Our Pens. In: NAWE International Conference 2015, 13-15 Nov 2015, Radisson Blu Hotel, Durham. (Unpublished)
- Stevens, Karen (2016) Picnic in the Park. In: Friends of Queen's Park, 26 June 2016, Brighton. (Unpublished)
- Stevens, Karen and Taylor, Jonathan (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, Karen (2014) Writing a First Novel: Reflections on the Journey. Palgrave MacMillan, Basingstoke, UK. ISBN 9780230290822
- Stevens, Karen and Taylor, Jonathan (2018) Introduction. In: High Spirits: A Round of Drinking Stories. Valley Press, Scarborough, UK, pp. 9-36. ISBN 9781912436125
- Stevens, Karen (2018) Sweden. In: High Spirits: A Round of Drinking Stories. Valley Press, Scarborough, UK, pp. 151-163. ISBN 9781912436125
- Stevens, Karen (2009) Creating authentic characters. In: Great Writing, UK Creative Writing Conference, 19-21 Jun 2009, Bangor Univeristy, Wales. (Submitted)
- Stevens, Karen (2010) Imagination & authority. In: Creative Writing in Education: NAWE Autumn Conference 2010, 12-14 Nov 2010, Cheltenham Park Hotel, Gloucestershire. (Submitted)
- Stevens, Karen (2010) The Visit. Riptide: Short Stories with an Undercurrent, 5.
- Stevens, Karen (2004) The Visit. In: Fish Anthology 2004: Spoonface and Other Stories. Fish Publishing, Bantry, Co. Cork, Ireland. ISBN 0954258622