Writer of facts and fiction

I write stories and novels 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. I'm at work on a novel about a strained friendship and short stories involving dandelions, exoplanets and a Mars rover.

As a writer for Cornell's College of Arts and Sciences, I report on faculty research in a wide range of subjects. In recent favorites I've learned that: the universe will end in a big crunch; politicians are not ignoring you, and improvising takes vulnerability and courage.

I love to connect with people in the writing community. And fellow runners and theater geeks, too.

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Recent Blog Posts

Streaker

By Kate Blackwood | December 16, 2025

Sixteen months, sixteen marathons. One inspiring runner.

Using the Chicago Marathon to learn quantum complexity

By Kate Blackwood | November 18, 2025

Seeing the same race from so many different angles made me think that every one of the runners, from the winners and national record setters to the mid-packers to the last finishers had some kind of a connection to every other one.

The butterflies are stalking me

By Kate Blackwood | September 30, 2025

I couldn’t get away from butterflies this month. They were suddenly everywhere, so I started to pay attention.

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