Abby Cooper photo Born in Connecticut, Karen Lynn Williams is the author of 17 books for children as well as a number of short stories and articles for journals and anthologies including the Chicken Soup series and Highlights Magazine. She is an instructor for the low-residency MFA program in creative writing at Chatham University. She has also been an instructor for the Institute of Children’s Literature and for Seton Hill University.

Karen has lived in Malawi, Haiti, and on the Navajo reservation in Chinle, Arizona, the settings for a number of her books.

Her books have been published in many languages, including Mandarin, Korean, and Swedish. Galimoto, reviewed with praise by the New York Times, was a Reading Rainbow feature book. Four Feet Two Sandals and My Name is Sangoel, co-authored with Khadra Mohammed, grew out of her volunteer work with refugees. Karen has a master’s degree in deaf education and taught English in Malawi as a Peace Corps volunteer.

When not writing about her life abroad, her stories are often based on life with four children and five grandchildren where she currently lives in Pittsburgh Pennsylvania. When not writing, Karen enjoys hiking, biking, traveling and gardening. She is passionate about nature and the environment and her daily routine includes a walk in the woods with her rescue dog, Reena.

Visit Karen online. Follow her on Twitter and Facebook.


Books by Karen Lynn Williams