Article · Wikipedia archive · Last revised Jul 4, 2026

Kelly Link

Kelly Link is an American editor and writer. Mainly known as an author of short stories, she published her first novel, The Book of Love, in 2024. Many of her stories have been described as slipstream or magical realism, combining science fiction, fantasy, horror, and literary fiction. She has won a Hugo Award, three Nebula Awards, and three World Fantasy Awards. She was one of the recipients of the 2018 MacArthur Fellowship.

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Kelly Link
Kelly Link and Gavin Grant
Kelly Link and Gavin Grant
Born (1969-07-19) July 19, 1969
Miami, Florida, U.S.1
OccupationWriter, professor, bookseller
EducationColumbia University (BA)
University of North Carolina, Greensboro (MFA)
GenreFantasy, horror, magical realism
Notable awardsMacArthur Fellowship
Hugo Award
Nebula Award
World Fantasy Award
SpouseGavin Grant
Children12
Website
kellylink.net

Kelly Link (born July 19, 1969) is an American editor and writer. Mainly known as an author of short stories, she published her first novel, The Book of Love, in 2024.34 Many of her stories have been described as slipstream or magical realism, combining science fiction, fantasy, horror, and literary fiction.56 She has won a Hugo Award, three Nebula Awards, and three World Fantasy Awards.7 She was one of the recipients of the 2018 MacArthur Fellowship.8

Biography

Link is a graduate of Columbia University and of the MFA program at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro.6 In 1995, she attended the Clarion East Writing Workshop.9

She and her husband, Gavin Grant, manage Small Beer Press, a publisher based in Northampton, Massachusetts.10 Small Beer Press has an imprint for intermediate readers called Big Mouth House.11 Link and Grant co-edit the literary zine Lady Churchill's Rosebud Wristlet, published by Small Beer Press.12 They also co-edited St. Martin's Press's The Year's Best Fantasy and Horror anthology series with Ellen Datlow for five years, ending in 2008.13 Link was previously the slush reader for Sci Fiction.14

In 2019, Link and Grant opened Book Moon, an independent bookstore in Easthampton, Massachusetts.15

Link taught at Lenoir–Rhyne University in Hickory, North Carolina, with the Visiting Writers Series during the 2005-2006 semester.16 She has taught at a number of schools and workshops including Bard College,17 Cleveland State University,18 the Clarion Workshop at Michigan State University,9 University of Massachusetts Amherst,19 and Clarion West Writers Workshop.20

In 2018, she received a MacArthur Fellowship.21 She is a professor at Smith College, where she is the Elizabeth Drew Professor of English Language and Literature.22 She received an honorary degree from Smith College in 2023.23

In 2024, Random House published Link's first novel, The Book of Love.24252627

Awards

Work Year & Award Category Result Ref.
"Travels with the Snow Queen" 1997 Otherwise Award Won 7
1999 World Fantasy Award Short Fiction Nominated 7
"The Specialist's Hat" 1999 World Fantasy Award Short Fiction Won 7
"Shoe and Marriage" 2001 World Fantasy Award Short Fiction Nominated 7
"Louise's Ghost" 2001 Nebula Award Novelette Won 28
Stranger Things Happen 2001 Salon.com Book Award Fiction Won 29
2002 World Fantasy Award Collection Nominated 7
2002 SF Site Readers Poll SF/Fantasy Book 5th Place 30
2002 Locus Award Collection Nominated 31
"Lull" 2003 Locus Award Novelette Nominated 7
Small Beer Press

(with Gavin Grant)

2003 World Fantasy Special Award—Non-professional award Nominated 7
2004 World Fantasy Special Award—Professional award Nominated 32
2005 World Fantasy Special Award—Professional award Nominated 7
2023 World Fantasy Special Award—Professional award Nominated 33
The Year's Best Fantasy and Horror

(17th Annual Collection) (with Ellen Datlow and Gavin Grant)

2004 Bram Stoker Award Anthology Won 34
2005 Locus Award Anthology Nominated 35
2005 British Fantasy Award Anthology Nominated
Small Beer Press and Big Mouth House

(with Gavin Grant)

2009 World Fantasy Special Award—Professional award Won 36
"The Faery Handbag" 2004 BSFA Award Short Fiction Nominated 37
2005 Locus Award Novelette Won 38
2005 World Fantasy Award Short Fiction Nominated 37
2005 Hugo Award Novelette Won 39
2005 Nebula Award Novelette Won 40
2012 Premio Ignotus Foreign Story Nominated
"Catskin" 2004 Locus Award Novelette Nominated
"The Hortlak" 2004 Locus Award Novelette Nominated
2004 World Fantasy Award Novella Nominated 32
Trampoline 2004 Locus Award Anthology Nominated
2004 World Fantasy Award Anthology Nominated 32
"Stone Animals" 2005 Locus Award Novelette Nominated 35
2005 Theodore Sturgeon Award Short Science Fiction Finalist 41
Magic for Beginners 2005 BSFA Award Short Fiction Won 42
2006 Young Lions Fiction Award Finalist 43
2006 Locus Award Novella Won 44
2006 SF Site Readers Poll SF/Fantasy Book 5th Place 45
2006 World Fantasy Award Novella Nominated 46
2006 Hugo Award Novella Nominated 47
2005 Nebula Award Novella Won 40
2006 Theodore Sturgeon Award Short Science Fiction 3rd Place 48
2008 Grand prix de l'imaginaire Foreign Short Story/Collection of Foreign Short Stories Nominated 49
Magic for Beginners 2005 International Horror Guild Award Collection Nominated 50
2005 Bram Stoker Award Fiction Collection Nominated 51
2005 Salon Book Award Won 29
2006 Locus Award Collection Won 44
2006 World Fantasy Award Collection Nominated 46
"Some Zombie Contingency Plans" 2005 Bram Stoker Award Long Fiction Nominated 51
2006 Locus Award Short Story Nominated 52
The Year's Best Fantasy and Horror (18th Annual Collection)

(with Ellen Datlow and Gavin Grant)

2006 Locus Award Anthology Won 44
The Year's Best Fantasy and Horror (19th Annual Collection)

(with Ellen Datlow and Gavin Grant)

2007 Locus Award Anthology Nominated 53
2007 British Fantasy Award Anthology Nominated 54
Lady Churchill's Rosebud Wristlet

(with Gavin Grant)

2007 Hugo Award Semiprozine Nominated 55
The Best of Lady Churchill's Rosebud Wristlet 2008 Locus Award Anthology Nominated 56
The Year's Best Fantasy and Horror (20th Annual Collection)

(with Ellen Datlow and Gavin Grant)

2008 Locus Award Anthology Nominated 56
"Pretty Monsters" 2009 Locus Award Novella Won 57
Pretty Monsters 2009 Locus Award Collection Nominated 58
2009 World Fantasy Award Collection Nominated 36
The Surfer 2009 Locus Award Novella Nominated 58
The Year's Best Fantasy and Horror (21st Annual Collection)

(with Ellen Datlow and Gavin Grant)

2009 Locus Award Anthology Nominated 58
2009 World Fantasy Award Anthology Nominated 36
"Secret Identity" 2010 Locus Award Novelette Nominated 59
"The Cinderella Game" 2010 Locus Award Short Story Nominated 59
"The Summer People" 2011 Shirley Jackson Award Novelette Won 60
2012 Locus Award Novelette Nominated 61
2013 O. Henry Award Juror Favorite 62
Steampunk!: An Anthology of Fantastically Rich and Strange Stories

(with Gavin Grant)

2012 Locus Award Anthology Nominated 61
"Valley of the Girls" 2012 Locus Award Short Story Nominated 61
"I Can See Right Through You" 2015 Locus Award Novelette Nominated 63
2015 World Fantasy Award Short Fiction Nominated 64
Monstrous Affections

(with Gavin Grant)

2015 Locus Award Anthology Nominated 63
2015 World Fantasy Award Anthology Won 64
"The Lady and the Fox" 2015 Locus Award Short Story Nominated 63
"The New Boyfriend" 2015 Locus Award Novelette Nominated 63
Get in Trouble 2016 Shirley Jackson Award Collection Nominated 65
2016 World Fantasy Award Collection Nominated 66
2016 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction Finalist 67
2016 Locus Award Collection Nominated 68
2016 Indies Choice Book Awards Adult Fiction Finalist 69
"The Game of Smash and Recovery" 2016 Locus Award Short Story Nominated 68
2016 Theodore Sturgeon Award Short Science Fiction Won 70
2017 World Fantasy Special Award—Professional award Contributions to the Genre Nominated 71
"The Girl Who Did Not Know Fear" 2020 Locus Award Short Story Nominated 72
"Skinder's Veil" 2022 Locus Award Novelette Nominated 73
White Cat, Black Dog 2023 Kirkus Prize Fiction Nominated 74
2024 BookTube Prize Fiction Octofinalist 75
2024 World Fantasy Award Collection Nominated 76
2024 Locus Award Collection Won 77
2024 Chautauqua Prize Shortlisted 78
"Prince Hat Underground" 2024 World Fantasy Award Novella Nominated 76
2024 Locus Award Novelette Nominated 77
The Book of Love 2025 Compton Crook Award Novel Nominated 79
2024 Nebula Award Nominated 80
2024 Los Angeles Times Book Prize Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Speculative Fiction Won 8182
Bibliography

Bibliography

Books

Selected stories

  • "The Game of Smash and Recovery"
  • "The Summer People"
  • "Pretty Monsters"
  • "Magic for Beginners"
  • "The Faery Handbag"
  • "Stone Animals"
  • "Louise's Ghost"
  • "The Specialist's Hat"
  • "Travels with the Snow Queen"

As editor

  • Trampoline (Small Beer Press, 2003)
  • The Year's Best Fantasy & Horror, Volumes 17 - 21 (with Ellen Datlow and Gavin J. Grant, St Martin's Griffin, 2004 - 2008)
  • Steampunk! An Anthology of Fantastically Rich and Strange Stories (with Gavin J. Grant, Candlewick Press, 2011)
  • Monstrous Affections: An Anthology of Beastly Tales (with Gavin J. Grant, Candlewick Press, 2014)
  • The Best of Lady Churchill's Rosebud Wristlet (with Gavin J. Grant, Del Rey Books, 2007)
References

References

  1. "About Kelly". Kelly Link. Archived from the original on March 15, 2013. Retrieved May 1, 2013.
  2. Grant, Gavin (May 20, 2009). "Small Beer, little baby". Small Beer Press. Retrieved August 12, 2011.
  3. Miller, Laura (November 19, 2001). "An interview with Kelly Link". Salon.com. Retrieved April 28, 2026.
  4. Miller, Laura (February 4, 2015). "'Get in Trouble': Going back inside the weird and wonderful world of Kelly Link". Salon.com.
  5. "RA Alert: Slipping into Slipstream with Kelly Link". EarlyWord. February 5, 2015. Retrieved April 28, 2026.
  6. Shapiro, Rebecca (2024). "The Wild and Wonderful World of Kelly Link". Columbia Magazine. Retrieved April 28, 2026.
  7. "Kelly Link Awards". science fiction awards database. Retrieved April 28, 2026.
  8. Charles, Ron (October 4, 2018). "Short-story writer Kelly Link wins MacArthur 'genius' grant". The Washington Post. Retrieved October 4, 2018.
  9. Trotter, Jessica (July 24, 2006). "Kelly Link talks about her participation in the thirty-eighth Clarion Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers Workshop at Michigan State University". MSU Libraries Digital Repository.
  10. Grant, Gavin J. (January 4, 2012). "Early history". Small Beer Press. Retrieved April 6, 2026.
  11. "Big Mouth House". Small Beer Press. Retrieved April 6, 2026.
  12. "LCRW". Small Beer Press. Retrieved April 28, 2026.
  13. Grant, Gavin J.; Link, Kelly (January 12, 2009). "The Year's Best Fantasy & Horror". Small Beer Press. Retrieved April 28, 2026.
  14. "An Interview with Kelly Link by The Slush God". The Slush God Speaketh. Archived from the original on June 29, 2005.
  15. "The Moon, The Moon; or: About Us". Book Moon Books. Retrieved April 28, 2026.
  16. "Visiting Writers Series - Past Writers" (PDF). Lenoir-Rhyne University. 2024.
  17. "Writers Kelly Link and Jedediah Berry '99 to Give Reading at Bard College on March 3". Bard College. February 25, 2025. Retrieved April 6, 2026.
  18. "End-of-Year Round Up". Cleveland State University Poetry Center. December 7, 2017. Retrieved April 28, 2026.
  19. Flynn, Anne-Gerard (October 5, 2018). "Kelly Link of Northampton named MacArthur Genius Grant recipient". masslive. Retrieved April 28, 2026.
  20. "Kelly Link's The Book of Love - Book Club Discussion". Clarion West. Retrieved April 6, 2026.
  21. "Kelly Link - MacArthur Foundation". www.macfound.org.
  22. "Kelly Link". Smith College. Retrieved April 6, 2026.
  23. "Speakers & Honorary Degrees". Smith College. Retrieved May 22, 2024.
  24. Garrett, Yvonne C. (July 29, 2024). "Kelly Link's The Book of Love". The Brooklyn Rail. Retrieved September 17, 2024.
  25. Gould, Emily (February 22, 2024). "How Kelly Link Wrote a Very Good First Novel". The Cut. Retrieved September 17, 2024.
  26. El-Mohtar, Amal (February 12, 2024). "Book Review: 'The Book of Love,' by Kelly Link". The New York Times. Retrieved September 17, 2024.
  27. Iglesias, Gabino (February 15, 2024). "Kelly Link's debut novel 'The Book of Love' is magical, confusing, heartfelt, strange". NPR. Retrieved September 17, 2024.
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  29. "Salon Book Award". LibraryThing. Archived from the original on October 20, 2023. Retrieved September 7, 2025.
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  48. "2006 Theodore Sturgeon Memorial Award". www.isfdb.org. Retrieved September 7, 2025.
  49. "2008 Grand Prix de l'Imaginaire". www.isfdb.org. Retrieved September 7, 2025.
  50. "International Horror Guild". horroraward.org. Retrieved September 7, 2025.
  51. "2005 Bram Stoker Award Winners and Nominees". thebramstokerawards.com. Retrieved 2026-04-28.
  52. "2006 Locus Awards Finalists". locusmag.com. Retrieved 2026-04-28.
  53. "2007 Locus Awards Finalists". locusmag.com. Retrieved 2026-04-28.
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  58. "2009 Locus Awards Finalists". locusmag.com. Retrieved 2026-04-28.
  59. "2010 Locus Awards Finalists". locusmag.com. Retrieved 2026-04-28.
  60. "2011 Shirley Jackson Awards Winners". locusmag.com. Retrieved 2026-04-28.
  61. "2012 Locus Awards Winners". locusmag.com. Retrieved 2026-04-28.
  62. "Understanding Kelly Link's "The Summer People"". thoughtco.com. Retrieved 2026-05-20.
  63. "2015 Locus Awards Winners". locusmag.com. Retrieved 2026-04-28.
  64. "2015 World Fantasy Awards Winners". locusmag.com. Retrieved 2026-04-28.
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  67. "2016 Pulitzer Prizes". pulitzer.org. Retrieved 2026-04-28.
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  73. "2022 Locus Awards Winners". locusmag.com. Retrieved 2026-04-28.
  74. "Finalists Announced for 2023 Kirkus Prizes". Kirkus Reviews. Retrieved 2026-04-28.
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  78. "2024 Chautauqua Prize". chautauquabookstore.com. Retrieved 2026-04-28.
  79. "Compton Crook Award | Nominee | 2025 | Awards and Honors | LibraryThing". LibraryThing.com.
  80. "2024 Nebula Awards". nebula.sfwa.org. Retrieved 2026-04-28.
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External links