Karen Kao writes lyric essays. Her work has been chosen as a 2025 Special Mention by the Pushcart Prize, a 2024 Notable by The Best American Essays, and winner of the 2022 Kenyon Review Short Nonfiction Contest. A native Angeleno, Karen lives in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, where she is at work on her debut essay collection. You can find her at swimmingupsidedown.substack.
Stories in Smokelong Quarterly
Story:
By the Way, Now That I Think of It, I Do Have One or Two Things I’d Like to Say to You
Interview: Smoke & Mirrors with Karen Kao
In September 2022 SmokeLong launched a workshop environment/community christened SmokeLong Fitness. This community workshop is happening right now on our dedicated workshop site. If you choose to join us, you will work in a small group of around 15-20 participants to give and receive feedback on flash narratives—one new writing task each week.