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

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.

Love and electricity: The novel ‘Child of Light’

By Kate Blackwood | August 13, 2025

Without breaking out of the character of 1896, Jesi Bender’s CHILD OF LIGHT gives an eerie premonition of electricity’s progress in the past 125 years.

‘So-called’: Media Objects podcast thinks critically about AI

By Kate Blackwood | August 3, 2025

Two episodes, broadcasting this week on KALW’s Bay Made show starting August 4, put AI into historical context and re-center human intelligence.

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