Professional Summary
Kristen Iversen holds a Ph.D in English and Creative Writing from the University of Denver (1996). She teaches graduate and undergraduate courses in literary nonfiction and fiction, and also serves as Literary Nonfiction Editor of The Cincinnati Review and faculty editor of the undergraduate journal Short Vine. Her work includes the books Full Body Burden: Growing Up in the Nuclear Shadow of Rocky Flats (2012, paperback/audio 2013; selected by universities around the country for their First Year Experience/Common Read programs); Molly Brown: Unraveling the Myth (1999, third edition 2018); Shadow Boxing: Art and Craft in Creative Nonfiction (2004); and two edited anthologies, Doom with a View (2020) and Don’t Look Now: Things We Wish We Hadn't Seen (2020). Essays and stories have appeared in The New York Times, The Nation, The American Scholar, Fourth Genre, Beloit Fiction Journal, and others. Several documentaries have been based on her work, including a new documentary Full Body Burden (forthcoming 2023) and an option for a tv series. In 2020-2021, she was chosen as a Fulbright Scholar for the University of Bergen, Norway (temporarily postponed due to Covid). Forthcoming books are Friend and Faithful Stranger: Nikola Tesla in the Gilded Age and Wide and Generous World: New and Published Essays. See www.kristeniversen.com
Education
PhD: University of Denver 1996 (English/Creative Writing)
MA: University of Denver 1991 (English/Creative Writing)
BA: University of Colorado Boulder, Colorado, 1981 (English/Creative Writing)
Mittelstufe Certificate: Goethe Universitat Frankfurt, Germany, 1989 (German language and literature)
Research and Practice Interests
Literary Nonfiction, Narrative Nonfiction, Fiction
Positions and Work Experience
2014 -To Present Professor, University of Cincinnati,
2003 -2014 Professor, University of Memphis,
2000 -2003 Assistant Professor, San Jose State University,
1999 -2000 Visiting Professor, Metropolitan State College of Denver,
1997 -1999 Book Editor, Westcliffe Publishers, Denver, Colorado
1984 -1988 Travel Writer based in Europe,
1982 -1984 Magazine Editor, MGM Publishing, San Jose, California
1996 -1998 Adjunct Professor, MFA Program, Naropa University, Boulder, Colorado
Publications
Published Books
(2012. ) Full Body Burden: Growing Up in the Nuclear Shadow of Rocky Flats .New York; UK; China; Japan (hardback, paperback, audio) , Crown/Random House (Author)
(1999. ) Molly Brown: Unraveling the Myth .Big Earth Books (Author)
(2004. ) Shadow Boxing: Art and Craft in Creative Nonfiction .Pearson/Prentice Hall (Author)
(2020. ) Doom with a View: Historical and Cultural Contexts of the Rocky Flats Nuclear Weapons Plant .Fulcrum Books (Editor)
(2020. ) Don't Look Now: Things We Wish We Hadn't Seen .Mad Creek Books (OSU Press) (Co-Editor)
(2020. ) Friend and Faithful Stranger: The Untold Story of Nikola Tesla . (Author)
(2020. ) Wide and Generous World: New and Published Essays . (Author)
Additional Publications
Honors and Awards
2014 The Alumni Award for Creative and Academic Achievement, The University of Memphis
2012 Colorado Book Award for Nonfiction, Reading the West Award for Nonfiction, Barnes and Noble "Great New Writer" Full Body Burden: Growing Up in the Nuclear Shadow of Rocky Flats
2013 Award for Journalistic Excellence The Alliance for Nuclear Accountability, Wash. D.C.
2011 Louise Eisenhardt Award for Creative and Academic Achievement
2004 Colorado Endowment for the Humanities Literature Prize
2000 Colorado Book Award for Biography, Barbara Sudler Award for Nonfiction Molly Brown: Unraveling the Myth
2020 -2021 Fulbright Scholar at the University of Bergen, Norway
Keywords
Nonfiction, Fiction
Courses Taught
Graduate and undergraduate courses in Literary Nonfiction, Creative Writing and Research, Creative Writing and the Environment, Creative Writing and Literary Publishing, The Essay, Fiction, Writing the Mystery
Other Information
Contact Information
iversekn@ucmail.uc.edu