Laura Kalpakian

Laura Kalpakian is the author of sixteen novels and four collections of short fiction published in the US and the UK. Recipient of a National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship in Fiction, and nominated for the 2007 International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award, her work has garnered acclaim on both sides of the Atlantic. Her short stories have appeared in the Iowa Review, Prairie Schooner, and the US, UK, and India Good Housekeeping, as well as many other magazines and literary journals. A native Californian, Laura has a BA from the University of California, Riverside and a Masters in history from the University of Delaware. She studied Literature in the PhD program at University of California, San Diego where she developed a special affection for 19th century fiction, for memoirs and autobiographies, and for writers of the Great War era, 1900–1930. When a UCSD professor told her she had too much imagination for grad school, she turned to the writing of novels. She is the mother of two sons, Emmy award-winning film and television composer, Bear McCreary, and singer-songwriter and music producer, Brendan McCreary. She lives in the Pacific Northwest.