Writer of facts and fiction

I write novels and stories inspired by sets of facts and bodies of knowledge. I'm a graduate of the Iowa Writers' Workshop, and my writing appears in Iron Horse, Stone Canoe, Sport Literate, and elsewhere. Find my review of Best Microfiction 2021 at Trampset. I'm at work on a novel composed of short stories, all connected by water.

As a writer for Cornell's College of Arts and Sciences, I report on faculty research in a wide range of subjects. Recent favorites include articles on: a free press and democracy, exoplanets, extreme astronomy, and a submarine robot named Icefin.

Send me a thought, a link, or a poem. I love to connect with people in the writing community. And fellow runners and theater geeks, too.

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Recent Blog Posts

Blue and gold decorative round chart showing 12 zodiac symbols

Book Review: The Luminaries

By Kate Blackwood | May 31, 2021

Perhaps star charts are, after all, an effective way to impose narrative order on a chaotic, destructive frontier setting

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Green hills reflected in a lake

Read of the week: Rewilding Scotland

By Kate Blackwood | May 17, 2021

“The theory goes that by giving nature a little push and then stepping back, we can put a stop to the incredible loss of biodiversity and worsening climate crisis.”

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Two people sit at a table with a rose centerpiece

Mother stories

By Kate Blackwood | May 9, 2021

As I celebrate Mother’s Day this year with a visit from my own amazing mom, I’m thinking of mother characters who play central – and complicated – roles in novels I’ve read this year.

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