Photo: Cory Doctorow from London, UK / CC BY-SA 2.0 (source: Wikimedia Commons)
My Take
Kelly Link is one of those writers I genuinely treasure for refusing to stay inside the lines. She blends science fiction, fantasy, horror, and literary fiction into slipstream stories that feel like remembered dreams, and the trophy case backs it up: a Hugo, three Nebulas, the Otherwise Award, a MacArthur "genius" grant. What moves me is the patience of her path, mastering the short story for decades before publishing her first novel, The Book of Love, in 2024. That is an artist trusting craft over hype. Strange, tender, and quietly subversive, her fiction is the kind that lingers long after you close the book.
Overview
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. 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.
Summary adapted from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.
1. Profile
- Name (English)
- Kelly Link
- Name (Japanese)
- ケリー・リンク
- Reading
- けりー・りんく
- Born
- July 19, 1969 (age 56)
- Zodiac / Chinese zodiac
- Cancer / Rooster
- Origin
- Miami, Florida, United States
- Blood type
- Private
- Height
- Private
- Agency
- Private
- Occupation
- writer / science fiction writer / novelist / children's writer / publisher
2. Background
- Elementary school
- Private
- Junior high
- Private
- High school
- Private
- University
- Columbia University
Awards & achievements
- 2009 Grand Prix de l'Imaginaire for Best Foreign-Language Short Story
- 2016 Theodore Sturgeon Award
- 1997 Otherwise Award
- 2018 MacArthur Fellows Program
- 2013 O. Henry Award
- 2005 Hugo Award for Best Novelette
- 2006 Nebula Award for Best Novella
- 2002 Nebula Award for Best Novelette
3. Relationships
- Spouse
- Private
- Children
- Private
- Parents
- Private
- Siblings
- Private
4. Personality
Motto
Private
6. Links
Writer — see all → · Science fiction writer — see all → · More people from United States →
7. About this entry
Tags
- Last updated
- 2026-06-02
Facts are limited to publicly available information up to 2024; non-public items are marked "Private / Unknown". English text is machine-assisted (facts translated by Sonnet, "My Take" written by Opus 4.8). The Japanese page is the source of record.