K. L. Cook
Encyclopedia
K. L. Cook is an American writer from Texas
. He is the author of Last Call (2004), a collection of linked stories spanning thirty-two years in the life of a West Texas
family, and the novel, The Girl From Charnelle (2006).
such as Threepenny Review, American Short Fiction, Shenandoah, and Post Road. Two of the stories won the Grand Prize in the 2002 Santa Fe Writers Project Literary Arts Series.
Set mostly in Texas and the American Southwest, the stories sympathetically depict the blue-collar lives of oil riggers, railroad and steel construction workers, x-ray technicians, waitresses, and a con man
who tries to buy Costa Rica and examine themes of multi-generational family dynamics, adolescence, and the tension between work and personal relationships.
The book received wide acclaim from critics, who called it “a remarkably accomplished first collection” (Kirkus Reviews), “a breathtakingly haunting and magical tapestry of human emotion” (Booklist), and “a deep and haunting book” (Harvard Review).
town of Charnelle, against the backdrop of the Kennedy/Nixon presidential election
, the novel examines the intellectual and erotic coming of age of a young woman, as well as the legacy of parental abandonment.
The Girl from Charnelle was on several 2006 "best books" lists. It was an Editor's Choice selection of the Historical Novel Society and was named a Southwest Book of the Year, a School Library Journal Best Adult Book for High School Students, and a Mississippi Press/Gulf Coast Live Top Three Books of the Year. It was also a finalist for the James Jones First Novel Award.
Reviewers called it “a resonant first novel” (Entertainment Weekly), “a strong, complex story from a promising new literary voice” (Kirkus Reviews), “a debut impossible to put down until the dramatic and realistic conclusion” (Library Journal, starred review), and “a marvelously written and well-paced, deeply affecting novel that ought to bring the writer several more awards” (Houston Chronicle).
Cook is the recipient of an Arizona Commission on the Arts fellowship for fiction, several Pushcart Prize
nominations, and artist colony fellowships to the MacDowell Colony
, Yaddo
, Ucross, and Blue Mountain Center.
He teaches creative writing and literature at Prescott College
, a small liberal arts college
in Arizona
, known for its experiential education, environmental, and social justice
mission. For several years he served as the Arts & Letters Program Coordinator and Associate Dean of Academic Affairs. Since 2004, he has been a member of the graduate faculty at the Spalding University Brief-Residency MFA in Writing Program.
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
. He is the author of Last Call (2004), a collection of linked stories spanning thirty-two years in the life of a West Texas
West Texas
West Texas is a vernacular term applied to a region in the southwestern quadrant of the United States that primarily encompasses the arid and semi-arid lands in the western portion of the state of Texas....
family, and the novel, The Girl From Charnelle (2006).
Last Call
Last Call (University of Nebraska Press 2004) was the inaugural winner of the Prairie Schooner Book Prize in Fiction. Stories in the collection were originally published in literary journalsLiterary magazine
A literary magazine is a periodical devoted to literature in a broad sense. Literary magazines usually publish short stories, poetry and essays along with literary criticism, book reviews, biographical profiles of authors, interviews and letters...
such as Threepenny Review, American Short Fiction, Shenandoah, and Post Road. Two of the stories won the Grand Prize in the 2002 Santa Fe Writers Project Literary Arts Series.
Set mostly in Texas and the American Southwest, the stories sympathetically depict the blue-collar lives of oil riggers, railroad and steel construction workers, x-ray technicians, waitresses, and a con man
Confidence trick
A confidence trick is an attempt to defraud a person or group by gaining their confidence. A confidence artist is an individual working alone or in concert with others who exploits characteristics of the human psyche such as dishonesty and honesty, vanity, compassion, credulity, irresponsibility,...
who tries to buy Costa Rica and examine themes of multi-generational family dynamics, adolescence, and the tension between work and personal relationships.
The book received wide acclaim from critics, who called it “a remarkably accomplished first collection” (Kirkus Reviews), “a breathtakingly haunting and magical tapestry of human emotion” (Booklist), and “a deep and haunting book” (Harvard Review).
The Girl from Charnelle
The Girl from Charnelle (William Morrow 2006/Harper Perennial 2007) deals with the same family of characters in 1960, focusing on the middle daughter, Laura Tate, who is left to take care of her father and brothers after the mother of the family mysteriously disappears. Set in the fictional Texas PanhandleTexas Panhandle
The Texas Panhandle is a region of the U.S. state of Texas consisting of the northernmost 26 counties in the state. The panhandle is a rectangular area bordered by New Mexico to the west and Oklahoma to the north and east...
town of Charnelle, against the backdrop of the Kennedy/Nixon presidential election
United States presidential election, 1960
The United States presidential election of 1960 was the 44th American presidential election, held on November 8, 1960, for the term beginning January 20, 1961, and ending January 20, 1965. The incumbent president, Republican Dwight D. Eisenhower, was not eligible to run again. The Republican Party...
, the novel examines the intellectual and erotic coming of age of a young woman, as well as the legacy of parental abandonment.
The Girl from Charnelle was on several 2006 "best books" lists. It was an Editor's Choice selection of the Historical Novel Society and was named a Southwest Book of the Year, a School Library Journal Best Adult Book for High School Students, and a Mississippi Press/Gulf Coast Live Top Three Books of the Year. It was also a finalist for the James Jones First Novel Award.
Reviewers called it “a resonant first novel” (Entertainment Weekly), “a strong, complex story from a promising new literary voice” (Kirkus Reviews), “a debut impossible to put down until the dramatic and realistic conclusion” (Library Journal, starred review), and “a marvelously written and well-paced, deeply affecting novel that ought to bring the writer several more awards” (Houston Chronicle).
Other publications, honors, teaching
Cook has published essays, poetry, reviews, and other stories in such journals and magazines as Poets & Writers, Harvard Review, Shenandoah, Alligator Juniper, and Arts & Letters and contributed to several anthologies, including Teachable Moments: Essays on Experiential Education (2006), Now Write: Fiction Exercises from Today's Best Writers and Teachers (2006) and When I Was a Loser (2007).Cook is the recipient of an Arizona Commission on the Arts fellowship for fiction, several Pushcart Prize
Pushcart Prize
The Pushcart Prize is an American literary prize by Pushcart Press that honors the best "poetry, short fiction, essays or literary whatnot" published in the small presses over the previous year. Magazine and small book press editors are invited to nominate up to 6 works they have featured....
nominations, and artist colony fellowships to the MacDowell Colony
MacDowell Colony
The MacDowell Colony is an art colony in Peterborough, New Hampshire, U.S.A., founded in 1907 by Marian MacDowell, pianist and wife of composer Edward MacDowell. She established the institution and its endowment chiefly with donated funds...
, Yaddo
Yaddo
Yaddo is an artists' community located on a 400 acre estate in Saratoga Springs, New York. Its mission is "to nurture the creative process by providing an opportunity for artists to work without interruption in a supportive environment."...
, Ucross, and Blue Mountain Center.
He teaches creative writing and literature at Prescott College
Prescott College
Prescott College is a private liberal arts college in Prescott, Arizona, founded in 1966. It is a non-profit organization which has an undergraduate body of roughly 800 students, and an average student to faculty ratio of 7:1 in on-campus classrooms...
, a small liberal arts college
Liberal arts college
A liberal arts college is one with a primary emphasis on undergraduate study in the liberal arts and sciences.Students in the liberal arts generally major in a particular discipline while receiving exposure to a wide range of academic subjects, including sciences as well as the traditional...
in Arizona
Arizona
Arizona ; is a state located in the southwestern region of the United States. It is also part of the western United States and the mountain west. The capital and largest city is Phoenix...
, known for its experiential education, environmental, and social justice
Social justice
Social justice generally refers to the idea of creating a society or institution that is based on the principles of equality and solidarity, that understands and values human rights, and that recognizes the dignity of every human being. The term and modern concept of "social justice" was coined by...
mission. For several years he served as the Arts & Letters Program Coordinator and Associate Dean of Academic Affairs. Since 2004, he has been a member of the graduate faculty at the Spalding University Brief-Residency MFA in Writing Program.