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

Book review: Bluebird, Bluebird by Attica Locke

By Kate Blackwood | May 22, 2020

Family history and Texas culture come together to suggest that sometimes justice does need to make an end run around the law after all.

Best Read of the Week: Reflections on runner Ahmaud Arbery, in The Atlantic and City Lab

By Kate Blackwood | May 15, 2020

The man in the security footage apparently took a drink of water from the construction site before continuing his run.

Book review: Reading Station Eleven during a pandemic

By Kate Blackwood | May 13, 2020

After a second reading—this one during a pandemic much less severe than the one in the book—I see more. It’s a story about gratitude. And grace. And tenacity.

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