Karen Gonzalez

Karen has been interested in folktales and folklore for more than three decades and has facilitated writing classes and workshops for more than twenty years .

Her poetry chapbooks include True North (Origami Poems Project), Coyote in the Basket of My Ribs (Kelsay Books) and forthcoming Down River with Li Po (Black Cat Poetry Press).

An award-winning fiction, poetry, and nonfiction writer, she has earned awards from Farmhouse Magazine, National League of American Pen Women, California Writers Association, and has been nominated for both the Pushcart Prize and Best of the Net.

Her work has appeared in The San Francisco Chronicle, North Bay Biz Journal, Australian Trade Community Journal, Verde, Potato Soup Journal, Sonoma Mandala, Big Blend Magazine, and Twisted in Time, Visual Verse, Zahir Tales as well as other magazines and newspapers.

She earned her Bachelor of Arts degrees in Creative Writing and Anthropological Linguistics/Folklore from Sonoma State University in California, and her folklore research credits include “Sonoma County Scarecrows: Scarecrows as Folk Art,” which was presented to the California Folklore Society.

She is also an assemblage artist who was National Arts Program Featured Artist in 2022. Her work has appeared on the cover of several literary magazines and been displayed in several art galleries.

She lives in Northern California.