Karen Hollands

A writer of short stories and novels.

About Me

I divide my time between working as a teacher-librarian and writing fiction.

I have written an historical novel and am now working on a contemporary novel. I am also currently putting together a collection of short stories.

I have an MPhil in Creative Writing and a PhD in Education.

Contact Me

Getting Noticed

Awards & Publications

My novel, Place of Shells (formerly, The Still Point of Being) was shortlisted in the 2019 Queensland Literary Awards Glendower Emerging Writer Award.

In 2018, I was awarded a place in the QWC/Hachette Manuscript Development Program and the ACT Writers Centre HARDCOPY Program.

I have had a memoir piece, Away from the World published in Kill Your Darlings https://www.killyourdarlings.com.au/contributor/karen-hollands and a short story, Jacaranda, published in The Saturday Paper: https://www.thesaturdaypaper.com.au/node/10574

My short story, Nereus’s Daughter, was awarded third place in the 2019 Southern Cross Short Story competition. I have also had various short stories longlisted in national and international competitions.

Completed Work

Place of Shells

Place of Shells is an historical/literary novel that begins in 1944 when fifteen-year-old Matilda is diagnosed with Leprosy and is sent to live at the Peel Island Lazaret in Queensland.

She slowly adapts to her new environment and finds a way to endure, and even enjoy, the forced isolation.

However, three years later, an encounter with an outsider ends in trauma and Matilda faces unbearable loss. She is forced to accept that she may never return to the mainland and her family.