Books & Public Speaking

Please scroll down for my biography and information on public speaking.

The Change RoomNovel | Random House Canada, 2017Nominated for Best Fiction and Best Bi-Writer of the Year 2017 (U.S. Annual BiSexual Book Award)

The Change Room

Novel | Random House Canada, 2017

Nominated for Best Fiction and Best Bi-Writer of the Year 2017 (U.S. Annual BiSexual Book Award)

Come Cold RiverPoetry | 2013This is a secret book for me. It took me several years to add this title to my list of published books.

Come Cold River

Poetry | 2013

This is a secret book for me. It took me several years to add this title to my list of published books.

Burmese Lessons: a love storyRandom House Canada, 2009Finalist for the 2009 BC National Award for Canadian Non-Fiction. Shortlisted for the 2010 Governor General’s Award for Non-Fiction.

Burmese Lessons: a love story

Random House Canada, 2009

Finalist for the 2009 BC National Award for Canadian Non-Fiction. Shortlisted for the 2010 Governor General’s Award for Non-Fiction.

 
The Lizard CageNovel | Random House Canada 2005Winner of the Orange Broadband Award for New Writers

The Lizard Cage

Novel | Random House Canada 2005

Winner of the Orange Broadband Award for New Writers

The Border Surrounds UsPoetry | McClelland and Stewart, 2001 

The Border Surrounds Us

Poetry | McClelland and Stewart, 2001 

Grace and PoisonPoetry and essay | Turnstone Press, 2001

Grace and Poison

Poetry and essay | Turnstone Press, 2001

 
The Disorder of LoveGutter Press, 1997 

The Disorder of Love

Gutter Press, 1997 

One Room In A Castle

One Room In A Castle

This Brighter PrisonBrick Books, London, 1993

This Brighter Prison

Brick Books, London, 1993

 
Touch The DragonTurnstone Press, 1992Winner of the Governor General’s Award for Non-FictionA New York Times Notable Book of the Year

Touch The Dragon

Turnstone Press, 1992

Winner of the Governor General’s Award for Non-Fiction

A New York Times Notable Book of the Year

The Small Words In My BodyPoetry | Kalamalka Press, 1990

The Small Words In My Body

Poetry | Kalamalka Press, 1990

 

Author of twelve books of poetry, fiction, and creative nonfiction, Karen Connelly is a writer, educator and psychotherapist in private practice in Toronto, Canada.

Public Speaking

I’ve given talks, lectures, workshops, performances, readings from my books and about creativity and giftedness, as well as empathy and healing in many places in Canada, the U.S., Europe and Asia. I’m a gifted, funny and at times challenging public speaker: no one falls asleep.

Please be in touch with me directly if you’d like me to prepare a live workshop or masterclass for your community organization, company or academic institution. I do not offer free services; my appearance rates for small groups of private individuals and community groups are reasonable. For companies and universities, my fee is higher, depending upon the time commitment and institution.

About The Change Room

The Change Room is a sexually vivid, complicated book about relationships, marriage, bisexuality, being a mother, swimming and . . . using our words. It depicts love and sex between husband and wife, between a sex worker and her clients, between two women. It’s also often a very funny book.

It is a novel, meaning it’s not a ‘true story’.

And, it’s also a very personal book, and a public act of courage. Even today, women are not supposed to write honestly about motherhood, mental health, sexuality, and the intersection of these. The reviews of the book (and the resistance many publishers had to publishing it) indicated that . . .

Happy Reading!

About the Author

Former professor in the Graduate School at the University of Guelph, a long-time writers’ mentor at Humber College, Karen leads intrepid writers in the healing and writing experience that is The Courageous Writers’ Academy. She also hosts The Olive Grove Retreat in the family olive grove in Greece.

She is the author of the acclaimed novel The Lizard Cage, set in a prison in Burma, winner of Britain’s Orange Broadband New Novelist’s Prize and shortlisted for the U.S.’s Kiriyama Prize. Her most recent novel is The Change Room, published by Random House in 2017. The Change Room was called “revolutionary and boundary-breaking” in its treatment of women’s lives, relationships and sexuality. 

She’s working on a new book called The Therapist In The Olive Grove. As well as the Orange Broadband prize, she’s received the Governor General’s Award for nonfiction, the Pat Lowther Award for poetry, several national magazine awards, a Chalmers Fellowship, and other national and international prize nominations for her books. Her poetry, novels, and nonfiction books are published in over a dozen countries and languages. 

Karen lives with her family in Toronto, Ontario. Her other home is Lesvos, Greece, where she is active in supporting several healthcare initiatives for the refugees at the Kara Tepes and (former) Moria Refugee Camps.