Karen Hofmann grew up in the Okanagan Valley and taught English and creative writing at Thompson Rivers University in Kamloops, British Columbia for nearly three decades, and now divides her time between the BC Interior and the West Coast. A first collection of poetry, Water Strider, was published by Frontenac House in 2008 and shortlisted for the Dorothy Livesay prize. Her first novel, After Alice, was published by NeWest Press in 2014, and a second novel, What is Going to Happen Next, in 2017. A short fiction collection, Echolocation, was published by NeWest in 2019. Her poetry and short fiction have won numerous recognitions. Karen is an avid walker, and her writing explores the landscapes, both rural and urban, of British Columbia, as well as the personalities and social dynamics of the inhabitants.

"Part Darwinian, part Ovidian, these are waltzing and desirous tales of transformation, thrumming with verdant light reaching through forest canopies. Hofmann’s characters are strange creatures bumping against one another in the shadows, with cracking voices seeking to connect. And then, when you least expect it, mad leaps from the dark into the light." -- R.W. Gray, author of Entropic and Crisp