Karen Joy Fowler

Author of The Jane Austen Book Club

65+ Works 14,117 Members 576 Reviews 14 Favorited

About the Author

Karen Joy Fowler is the author of several novels and short story collections. Her works include Sarah Canary, The Sweetheart Season, Sister Noon, and The Jane Austen Book Club. She has received numerous awards including the World Fantasy Award in 1999 for Black Glass, the World Fantasy Award in show more 2011 for What I Didn't See, and the 2014 PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction for We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves. This same title was nominated for The Man Booker Prize for Best Novel in 2014. (Bowker Author Biography) show less

Includes the names: Karen J. Fowler, Karen Jay Fowler, Katen Joy Fowlet, FOWLER KAREN JOY, Karen Joy Fowler, Joy Karen Fowler, ed. Karen Joy Fowler, Karen Joy Fowler ed. et al

Image credit: Jeff Willhelm, www.squawvalleywriters.org/press.htm

Series

James Tiptree Anthology

Works by Karen Joy Fowler

Popular Recent

The Jane Austen Book Club (2004) 6,438 copies

We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves (2013) 3,709 copies

Sarah Canary (1991) 761 copies

Booth (2022) 580 copies

Wit's End (2008) 473 copies

Sister Noon (2001) 297 copies

The Sweetheart Season (1996) 253 copies

What I Didn't See: Stories (2010) 234 copies

Black Glass: Stories (1986) 212 copies

The James Tiptree Award Anthology 1: Sex, the Future, and Chocolate Chip Cookies (2004) — Editor — 175 copies

The Best American Science Fiction and Fantasy 2016 (2016) — Editor — 171 copies

Artificial Things (1986) 170 copies

The Jane Austen Book Club [2007 film] (2008) — Original novel — 160 copies

The James Tiptree Award Anthology 2: Stories for Men, Women, and the Rest of Us (2005) — Editor — 99 copies

The James Tiptree Award Anthology 3: Subversive Stories about Sex and Gender (2007) — Editor — 95 copies

The Science of Herself Plus ... (2013) 80 copies

80! Memories & Reflections on Ursula K. Le Guin (2010) — Editor — 37 copies

The War of the Roses (1991) 13 copies

Standing Room Only [short story] 13 copies

Peripheral Vision (1990) 13 copies

The Dark [short story] 9 copies

Always [short story] 9 copies

What I Didn't See [short story] (1900) 8 copies

The Lake Was Full of Artificial Things (1985) 7 copies

The Faithful Companion at Forty [short story] (1987) 6 copies

The James Tiptree Award Anthology 4: Subversive Stories about Sex and Gender (2008) — Editor — 6 copies

Younger Women [short story] 5 copies

Black Glass [novelette] (1991) 5 copies

Private Grave 9 — Author — 5 copies

The Pelican Bar [short fiction] 5 copies

The Elizabeth Complex (1996) 4 copies

Lieserl (1990) 4 copies

The Last Worders [short story] (2007) 4 copies

King Rat 4 copies

Halfway People 3 copies

Face Value [short story] 3 copies

Familiar Birds [short fiction] 3 copies

Praxis [short story] 3 copies

The Marianas Islands 3 copies

Lily Red [short story] (1998) 3 copies

The Gate of Ghosts [short story] 2 copies

The Case of the Imaginary Detective (1800) 2 copies

Mota 2002 Truth: An Annual Anthology of Fine Fiction (2003) — Editor — 2 copies

Comme ce monde est joli [collection] (2021) 2 copies

Letters from Home [short story] (1987) 2 copies

Heartland [short story] 2 copies

The Black Fairy's Curse [short story] (1997) 2 copies

Game Night at the Fox and Goose [short story] (1989) 2 copies

The Travails [short story] (1998) 2 copies

Booth's Ghost [short story] 2 copies

Shimabara [short story] (1995) 1 copy

Her smoke rose up from supper 1 copy

The Reef Builders [short fiction] (1997) 1 copy

Science of Herself (Outspoken Authors Book 12) (2013) 1 copy

Go Back [short story] (1998) 1 copy

The Further Adventures of the Invisible Man [short story] 1 copy

Duplicity [short story] (1989) 1 copy

Autograph, S.F. Writer, Signed Collector Card (Mine) (3) 1 copy

2007 1 copy

Persephone of the Crows 1 copy

The Brew [short story] (1995) 1 copy

Sarah Canary and the Mermaid [short fiction] (1990) 1 copy

The View from Venus [novelette] (1986) 1 copy

The Jane Austen Book Club | Pride and Prejudice (2007) 1 copy

Contention [short story] (1986) 1 copy

Work Explorer

Associated Works

Jane Austen: Seven Novels (1811) — Introduction, some editions — 5,441 copies

McSweeney's Mammoth Treasury of Thrilling Tales (2002) — Contributor — 1,475 copies

My Mother She Killed Me, My Father He Ate Me: Forty New Fairy Tales (2010) — Contributor — 989 copies

No Time to Spare: Thinking About What Matters (2017) — Introduction — 983 copies

The Weird: A Compendium of Strange and Dark Stories (2011) — Contributor — 834 copies

Women Who Read Are Dangerous (2005) — Foreword, some editions — 631 copies

Black Swan, White Raven (1997) — Contributor — 588 copies

Masterpieces: The Best Science Fiction of the Century (2001) — Contributor — 453 copies

The Big Book of Science Fiction (2016) — Contributor — 424 copies

The Year's Best Science Fiction: Ninth Annual Collection (1992) — Contributor — 417 copies

The Norton Book of Science Fiction: North American Science Fiction, 1960-1990 (1993) — Consultant — 316 copies

Feeling Very Strange: The Slipstream Anthology (2006) — Contributor — 311 copies

Happily Ever After (2011) — Contributor — 301 copies

The Year's Best Fantasy and Horror: Twelfth Annual Collection (1999) — Contributor — 266 copies

The Year's Best Fantasy and Horror: Eleventh Annual Collection (1998) — Contributor — 241 copies

Flirting with Pride & Prejudice: Fresh Perspectives on the Original Chick-Lit Masterpiece (2005) — Contributor — 237 copies

The Year's Best Fantasy and Horror: Seventeenth Annual Collection (2004) — Contributor — 232 copies

The Year's Best Fantasy and Horror: Sixteenth Annual Collection (2003) — Contributor — 232 copies

The Year's Best Science Fiction: Third Annual Collection (1986) — Contributor — 229 copies

Beyond the Woods: Fairy Tales Retold (2016) — Contributor — 226 copies

The Best of Lady Churchill's Rosebud Wristlet (2007) — Contributor — 224 copies

The Vintage Book of Amnesia: An Anthology of Writing on the Subject of Memory Loss (2000) — Contributor — 217 copies

Cursed: An Anthology of Dark Fairy Tales (2020) — Contributor — 214 copies

Alternate Empires (What Might Have Been, Vol. 1) (1989) — Contributor — 209 copies

The Year's Best Science Fiction: Fourth Annual Collection (1987) — Contributor — 202 copies

Women of Wonder, the Contemporary Years: Science Fiction by Women from the 1970s to the 1990s (1995) — Contributor — 202 copies

Conjunctions: 39, The New Wave Fabulists (2002) — Contributor — 198 copies

The Secret History of Science Fiction (2009) — Contributor — 197 copies

The Year's Best Science Fiction: Fifth Annual Collection (1988) — Author — 192 copies

Year's Best SF 13 (2008) — Contributor — 192 copies

What Might Have Been, Volumes 1 & 2: Alternate Empires, Alternate Heroes (1989) — Contributor — 186 copies

Daughters of Earth: Feminist Science Fiction in the Twentieth Century (2006) — Contributor — 177 copies

Trampoline: An Anthology (2003) — Contributor — 169 copies

Full Spectrum 3 (1991) — Contributor — 168 copies

The Year's Best Fantasy and Horror 2008: 21st Annual Collection (2008) — Contributor — 168 copies

Eclipse 3: New Science Fiction and Fantasy (2009) — Contributor — 160 copies

Vanishing Acts: A Science Fiction Anthology (2000) — Contributor — 158 copies

The Year's Best Fantasy and Horror: Fourth Annual Collection (1991) — Contributor — 154 copies

Peter S. Beagle's Immortal Unicorn (1995) — Contributor — 148 copies

Future on Ice (1998) — Contributor — 144 copies

Alien Contact [ebook] (2011) — Contributor; Contributor — 143 copies

The Best Science Fiction and Fantasy of the Year Volume Six (2012) — Contributor — 141 copies

The Very Best of Fantasy & Science Fiction: Sixtieth Anniversary Anthology (2009) — Contributor — 132 copies

The Best Science Fiction and Fantasy of the Year Volume Four (2010) — Contributor — 129 copies

Wicked Wonders (2017) — Introduction — 124 copies

Peter S. Beagle's Immortal Unicorn: Volume 2 (1999) — Contributor — 122 copies

L. Ron Hubbard Presents Writers of the Future, Volume I (1985) — Contributor — 120 copies

The Big Book of Modern Fantasy (2020) — Contributor — 112 copies

The Mammoth Book of SF Stories by Women (2014) — Contributor — 110 copies

Nebula Awards 33 (1999) — Contributor — 100 copies

The Best of Crank! (1998) — Author — 100 copies

Nebula Awards Showcase 2009 (2009) — Contributor — 94 copies

Nebula Awards Showcase 2005 (2005) — Contributor — 83 copies

Digital Domains: A Decade of Science Fiction & Fantasy (2010) — Contributor — 81 copies

Ascendancies: The Best of Bruce Sterling (2007) — Introduction — 81 copies

Paragons: Twelve Master Science Fiction Writers Ply Their Crafts (1996) — Contributor — 81 copies

The Best Science Fiction of the Year #15 (1986) — Contributor — 76 copies

The Best of Subterranean (2017) — Contributor — 75 copies

Full Spectrum 5 (1995) — Contributor — 73 copies

The Year's Best Science Fiction & Fantasy, 2012 Edition (2013) — Contributor — 72 copies

In the Field of Fire (1987) — Contributor — 68 copies

The Apes of Wrath (2013) — Contributor — 66 copies

Intersections: The Sycamore Hill Anthology (1995) — Contributor — 65 copies

Fantasy: The Best of the Year, 2008 Edition (2008) — Contributor — 64 copies

New Eves: Science Fiction About the Extraordinary Women of Today and Tomorrow (1994) — Contributor — 62 copies

Collected Stories (2009) — Introduction — 61 copies

Year's Best Weird Fiction, Vol. 2 (2015) — Contributor — 60 copies

Skin of the Soul (1990) — Contributor — 60 copies

Attack of the Jazz Giants: and Other Stories (2005) — Introduction — 58 copies

Nebula Awards 27: SFWA's Choices for the Best Science Fiction and Fantasy of the Year (1993) — Contributor — 53 copies

Isaac Asimov's SF-Lite (1993) — Contributor — 52 copies

Ghosts: Recent Hauntings (2012) — Contributor — 51 copies

L. Ron Hubbard Presents Writers of the Future, Volume VII (1991) — Contributor — 51 copies

Nebula Awards 26: SFWA's Choices for the Best Science Fiction and Fantasy of the Year (1992) — Contributor — 50 copies

Interzone: The 3rd Anthology (1988) — Contributor — 50 copies

The Unicorn Anthology (2017) — Contributor — 47 copies

David Copperfield's Beyond Imagination (1996) — Contributor — 46 copies

Field of Fantasies: Baseball Stories of the Strange and Supernatural (2014) — Contributor — 44 copies

Powers: Secret Histories: A Bibliography (2009) — Contributor — 43 copies

Women of Other Worlds: Excursions Through Science Fiction and Feminism (1999) — Contributor — 42 copies

Crucified Dreams (2011) — Contributor — 40 copies

And the Angels Sing: Stories (1992) — Foreword — 38 copies

The Year's Best Science Fiction & Fantasy, 2018 Edition (2018) — Contributor — 36 copies

The Great Silence (2015) — Foreword, some editions; Introduction — 34 copies

Science Fiction: The Best of the Year, 2008 Edition (2008) — Contributor — 34 copies

Sense of Wonder: A Century of Science Fiction (2011) — Contributor — 32 copies

A Cross of Centuries: Twenty-five Imaginative Tales About the Christ (2007) — Contributor — 28 copies

Neat Sheets: The Poetry of James Tiptree, Jr. (1996) — Foreword — 26 copies

The Mammoth Book of the Mummy (2017) — Contributor — 25 copies

Terminal Visions (2000) — Foreword — 25 copies

We, Robots (2010) — Contributor — 24 copies

Isaac Asimov's Robots (1991) — Contributor — 23 copies

The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction June 1991, Vol. 80, No. 6 (1991) — Contributor — 23 copies

Interzone: The 5th Anthology (1991) — Contributor — 22 copies

Letters from Home (1991) — Author — 22 copies

Thief of Lives (2011) — Introduction, some editions — 21 copies

The Best from Fantasy and Science Fiction: A 45th Anniversary Anthology (1994) — Contributor — 18 copies

Lightspeed Magazine, Issue 34 • March 2013 (2013) — Contributor — 18 copies

Asimov's Science Fiction: Vol. 31, No. 4 & 5 [April/May 2007] (2007) — Contributor — 17 copies

Isaac Asimov's Science Fiction Magazine: Vol. 12, No. 7 [July 1988] (1988) — Contributor — 17 copies

Asimov's Science Fiction: Vol. 21, No. 8 [August 1997] (1997) — Contributor — 16 copies

Isaac Asimov's Science Fiction Magazine: Vol. 11, No. 7 [July 1987] (1987) — Contributor — 14 copies

Isaac Asimov's Science Fiction Magazine: Vol. 14, No. 7 [July 1990] (1990) — Contributor — 14 copies

Isaac Asimov's Science Fiction Magazine: Vol. 9, No. 10 [October 1985] (1985) — Contributor — 14 copies

Because I Love Her (2009) — Contributor — 14 copies

The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction June 1985, Vol. 68, No. 6 (1985) — Contributor — 14 copies

The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction March 1986, Vol. 70, No. 3 (1986) — Contributor — 13 copies

Isaac Asimov's Science Fiction Magazine: Vol. 9, No. 12 [December 1985] (1905) — Contributor — 13 copies

Virtually Now: Stories of Science, Technology, and the Future (1996) — Contributor — 12 copies

Asimov's Science Fiction: Vol. 33, No. 6 [June 2009] (1909) — Contributor — 12 copies

Isaac Asimov's Science Fiction Magazine: Vol. 13, No. 12 [December 1989] (1989) — Author — 12 copies

Isaac Asimov's Science Fiction Magazine: Vol. 10, No. 8 [August 1986] (1986) — Contributor — 11 copies

The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction November 1986, Vol. 71, No. 5 (1986) — Contributor — 11 copies

Lightspeed Magazine, Issue 66 • November 2015 (2015) — Contributor — 11 copies

Lightspeed Magazine, Issue 22 • March 2012 (2012) — Contributor — 11 copies

Isaac Asimov's Science Fiction Magazine: Vol. 9, No. 3 [March 1985] (1985) — Contributor — 11 copies

Das Science Fiction Jahr 1994. Ein Jahrbuch für den Science Fiction Leser (1994) — Contributor — 10 copies

Lightspeed Magazine, Issue 14 • July 2011 (2011) — Contributor — 8 copies

Lady Churchill's Rosebud Wristlet No. 20 (2012) — Contributor — 8 copies

The Year's Best Fantasy: Volume One (2022) — Contributor — 8 copies

Spirits Unwrapped (2019) — Contributor — 8 copies

Making History: Classic Alternate History Stories (2019) — Contributor — 8 copies

Second Hand Planet. Internationale Science Fiction Erzählungen. (1990) — Contributor — 8 copies

Loncon 3 : The 72nd World Science Fiction Convention (2014) 8 copies

Lightspeed Magazine, Issue 77 • October 2016 (2016) — Contributor — 8 copies

Asimov's Science Fiction: Vol. 41, No. 5 & 6 [May/June 2017] (2017) — Contributor — 7 copies

Ikarus 2001. Best of Science Fiction. (2001) — Contributor — 7 copies

Heyne Jahresband Science Fiction 1989. (1989) — Contributor — 7 copies

I mondi del possibile (1993) — Contributor — 7 copies

Die Pilotin. Internationale Science-Fiction-Erzählungen (1994) — Contributor — 6 copies

Subterranean Magazine Winter 2014 — Contributor — 6 copies

Wassermans Roboter (1988) — Contributor — 6 copies

Lightspeed Magazine, Issue 109 (June 2019) (2019) — Contributor — 5 copies

Interzone 042 (1990) — Contributor — 5 copies

Futurs tous azimuts (1992) — Contributor — 5 copies

Isaac Asimov's Science Fiction Magazin 36. Folge (1992) — Contributor — 4 copies

The Roots of Fantasy: Myth, Folklore & Archetype (1989) — Contributor — 4 copies

StarShipSofa Stories Volume 3 — Contributor — 4 copies

Interzone 023 (1988) — Contributor — 4 copies

Papa Godzilla (1989) — Contributor — 3 copies

Territoires de l'inquiétude. 7 (1993) — Contributor — 3 copies

Die Sterne sind weiblich (1993) — Contributor — 2 copies

Subterranean Magazine Summer 2011 — Contributor — 2 copies

Lightspeed Magazine, Issue 124 (September 2020) (2020) — Contributor — 2 copies

Zärtlich war die Zukunft: Liebesgeschichten aus der Welt von morgen (1989) — Contributor — 2 copies

Omni Magazine November 1989 (1989) — Contributor — 2 copies

Crank! Science Fiction • Fantasy, Winter 1996 (No. 6) — Contributor — 1 copy

Tales of the Unanticipated 15, Fall / Winter 1995 / 1996 — Contributor — 1 copy

Mondaugen — Contributor — 1 copy

Science Fiction Eye #10, June 1992 — Contributor — 1 copy

Science Fiction Eye #07, August 1990 — Contributor — 1 copy

Millemondi Inverno 1992 — Contributor — 1 copy

Locus Nr.492 2002.01 — Contributor — 1 copy

Das Blei der Zeit (1993) — Contributor — 1 copy

Science Fiction Eye #08, Winter 1991 — Contributor — 1 copy

Rod Serling's the Twilight Zone Magazine 1987 01 January-February — Contributor — 1 copy

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Common Knowledge

Birthdate: 1950-02-07
Gender: female
Nationality: USA
Birthplace: Bloomington, Indiana, USA
Places of residence: Bloomington, Indiana, USA (birth)
Palo Alto, California, USA
Davis, California, USA
Santa Cruz, California, USA
Education: University of California, Berkeley (Political Science)
Occupations: science fiction writer
fantasy writer
novelist
Organizations: James Tiptree, Jr. Literary Award Council (founder)
Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America
Awards and honors: John W. Campbell Award (1987)
Agent: Wendy Weil

Members

Discussions

We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves: SPOILERS ALLOWED in Girlybooks (November 2015)

2014 Booker Prize longlist: We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves in Booker Prize (October 2014)

Reviews

Booth by Karen Joy Fowler

A success on such a large scale that it’s difficult for me to write about. Check it out!

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Amateria66 | 26 other reviews | May 24, 2024 |

The Jane Austen Book Club by Karen Joy Fowler

Gave it to page 100 before I decided the book was too boring and scattered in focus to go on.. Basically a collection of stories: for each host of the book club meeting we first have to read a flashback story to their adolescence. My how difficult it is to grow up in the sunny state of California in the richest country of the world. Sigh. Their problems did not touch me,

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amaraki | 193 other reviews | May 24, 2024 |

The Jane Austen Book Club [DVD] [2007] [2008] by Maria Bello

Each of the main characters reflects some aspect of Austen's books in their personalities or their lives; not so overtly as to be predictable, but running through the whole story. And because we see them in action rather than getting flashbacks and conversation, I enjoyed this very much indeed.

It's not necessary to be an Austen fan to like and understand this film - my husband has never read any of her books, although he's seen a few film adaptations. But it helps, to appreciate the ironies.… (more)

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SueinCyprus | 3 other reviews | May 15, 2024 |

We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves by Karen Joy Fowler

Rosemary tells the story of growing up in her family with her brother, sister, imaginary twin sister, and parents. Her father is a professor of behavioral psychology. She starts the story in the middle, jumps around a bit, and eventually makes it through the beginning and the end. The most important milestone in her life is when her sister leaves.

This novel pulled at my heartstrings. It was funny, sad and a page-turner all at the same time. And I learned a lot.

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LisaMorr | 243 other reviews | Feb 12, 2024 |

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