Hi! I’m Dr. Karen Lowry and I’m a speculative fiction writer, currently working on my first novel. I also currently work as a sessional academic at Curtin University and Murdoch University. I’m currently writing and researching around the influences of governmentality on world building in speculative fiction. My research focuses on how trauma defines both physical and political spaces.
I’ve got a lot of experience in the writing industry, having presented my work at conferences and festivals around the world, including The Great Writing Conference in London, the Electronic Literature Organisation Conference in Orlando, The Margaret River Readers and Writers Festival in Western Australia, and the National Young Writers Festival in Newcastle NSW.
I’m also very passionate about the arts industry in Australia, having spent over 11 years managing festivals and events. These include the 2012 and 2013 Perth Poetry Festival for WA Poets Inc, the Literary Youth Festival for Propel Youth Arts, and numerous livestreams for Loungeroom Livestreaming.
I’ve been published extensively, with my latest short story appearing in Growing up in Country Australia by Black Inc. I’ve also recently published a digital essay on fake news, which appeared in the inaugural edition of The Digital Review. My non-fiction articles and reviews have been published in The Guardian, Fringefeed , ArtsHub, X-Press Magazine, and The Conversation. Other creative work has also appeared in numerous literary journals, including Australian Poetry Journal, dotdotdash and WRIT Poetry Review.
In 2017 I was approached by author David Thomas Henry Wright, to collaborate and create a digital interface for his novella Paige & Powe. Our work went on to be shortlisted for the 2017 Queensland Literary Awards. I was also highly commended in the earlier 2013 Poetry d’Amour Love Poetry Competition for “Hinge”.
Training and Education
I have a PhD in electronic literature from Curtin University where I was recipient of the Australian Postgraduate Award and Curtin Research Scholarship. As a top 20 finalist for AMP’s Bright Sparks Competition, I also received training on financing research and public speaking. As well as my PhD, I also hold a Postgraduate Certificate in Marketing and have twelve years experience as a freelance writer and journalist, seven years experience in UX design and front-end web development, and three years experience in film and motion graphics.
