Stephanie Kuehn is an American author of young adult fiction, best known for her William C. Morris Award-winning debut novel Charm & Strange, Delicate Monsters, and Complicit. Her novels often explore themes of mental illness and psychology.[1]

Stephanie Kuehn
BornUnited States
LanguageEnglish
EducationBA in Linguistics, MA in Sports Psychology, PsyD in Clinical Psychology
Alma materJohn F. Kennedy University, University of California, Santa Cruz
Genreyoung adult fiction
Years active2014-now
Notable worksCharm & Strange, Delicate Monsters, Complicit
Notable awardsWilliam C. Morris Award 2014, Northern California Book Award 2016
Children3
Website
stephaniekuehn.com

Personal life

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Kuehn wanted to be a filmmaker as a teen and grew up in Berkeley, California.[2] She grew up reading books by V.C. Andrews and Peter Straub.[3]

Kuehn attended John F. Kennedy University and the University of California, Santa Cruz.[4] She has a bachelor's degree in linguistics, a master's degree in sports psychology, and a doctorate in clinical psychology.[5][4]

Her background as a psychologist is one of the reasons why many of her novels have narrators who are dealing with mental health issues.[6]

She currently lives in Northern California with her husband and three children.[7]

Selected works

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Her debut young adult novel, Charm & Strange, was published by St. Martin's Griffin in 2014 and tells the story of a teenage athlete who believes he might be a werewolf.[8] Charm & Strange won the William C. Morris Award in 2014[9] and was nominated for a Carnegie Medal in 2014.[10]

Delicate Monsters, her sophomore novel, about the intersecting lives of three troubled teenagers, was published in 2015 by St. Martin's Griffin.[11] It won the Northern California Book Award in the category Children's Fiction for Older Readers in 2016.[12]

Her third novel, Complicit, about a teen dealing with the aftermath of his sister burning down a barn and being sentenced to juvenile detention, was published by St. Martin's Griffin in 2016.[13] Complicit was also on Booklist's 2014 Top 10 Crime Fiction for Youth,[14] the 2015 Reading List of the Texas Library Association,[15] YALSA's 2015 Top Ten Best Fiction for Young Adults list,[16] and YALSA's 2017 Popular Paperbacks for Young Adults list.[17] Complicit was also nominated for a Kentucky Bluegrass Award in 2016[18] and a Rhode Island Teen Book Award in 2016.[19]

Kuehn's fourth novel, The Smaller Evil, is about a teen who arrives at a self-help center to deal with his anxiety and chronic illness, but stumbled into strange happenings when the retreat leader appears not to be who he seems.[20] The Smaller Evil was published by Dutton in 2016.[21] It received a starred review from School Library Journal[22] Kuehn was awarded the PEN/Phyllis Naylor Working Writer Fellowship for The Smaller Evil in 2015.[23]

Her fifth novel, When I Am Through With You, was published by Dutton in 2017.[24] It received a starred review from Kirkus magazine.[25]

Bibliography

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Young adult novels

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  • Charm & Strange (St. Martin's Griffin, 2014)
  • Delicate Monsters (St. Martin's Griffin, 2015)
  • Complicit (St. Martin's Griffin, 2016)
  • The Smaller Evil (Dutton, 2016)
  • When I Am Through With You (Dutton, 2017)
  • We Weren't Looking to Be Found (Disney-Hyperion, 2022)

Short stories

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  • in Feral Youth, edited by Shaun David Hutchinson (Simon Pulse, 2017)
  • in (Don't) Call Me Crazy, edited by Kelly Jensen (Algonquin, 2018)
  • in His Hideous Heart, edited by Dahlia Adler (Flatiron, 2019)

Awards

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Year Title Award Result Ref.
2014 Charm & Strange William C. Morris Award Winner [9]
Carnegie Medal Nominee [10]
2016 Delicate Monsters Northern California Book Award, Children's Fiction for Older Readers Winner [12]
Complicit Kentucky Bluegrass Award Nominee [18]
Rhode Island Teen Book Award Nominee [19]

References

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  1. ^ "Fangirls Unleashed: Exclusive Interview with Stephanie Kuehn". San Jose Public Library. 2018-08-21. Retrieved 2019-04-10.
  2. ^ "One Thing Leads to Another: An Interview with Stephanie Kuehn - The Hub". The Hub. 2014-08-07. Retrieved 2018-11-26.
  3. ^ Staff, MPR News. "'The Smaller Evil' dives into the dark plot of a cult-like retreat". Retrieved 2018-11-26.
  4. ^ a b "CELEBRATION OF SCHOLARSHIP JOHN F. KENNEDY UNIVERSITY COMMUNITY CONTRIBUTIONS 2013" (PDF). John F. Kennedy University. Retrieved 10 April 2019.
  5. ^ "The PEN Ten with Stephanie Kuehn - PEN America". pen.org. 18 August 2015. Retrieved 2018-11-26.
  6. ^ "Stephanie Kuehn on the Unreliable Narrator, Mental Health, and". School Library Journal. Retrieved 2018-11-26.
  7. ^ "about". stephanie kuehn. 2012-11-27. Retrieved 2019-04-10.
  8. ^ CHARM & STRANGE by Stephanie Kuehn | Kirkus Reviews.
  9. ^ a b NGILBERT (2014-12-03). "2014 Morris Award". Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA). Retrieved 2018-11-26.
  10. ^ a b "Nominations announced for the 2014 CILIP Carnegie & Kate Greenaway Medals". CILIP. 2013-11-05. Retrieved 2018-11-26.
  11. ^ DELICATE MONSTERS by Stephanie Kuehn | Kirkus Reviews.
  12. ^ a b "Poetry Flash > programs". poetryflash.org. Retrieved 2018-11-26.
  13. ^ COMPLICIT by Stephanie Kuehn | Kirkus Reviews.
  14. ^ Top 10 Crime Fiction for Youth: 2014, by Ilene Cooper | Booklist Online. Retrieved 2018-11-26 – via www.booklistonline.com.
  15. ^ "Current List - Texas Library Association". Texas Library Association. Retrieved 2018-11-26.
  16. ^ NGILBERT (2015-02-03). "2015 Top Ten Best Fiction for Young Adults". Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA). Retrieved 2018-11-26.
  17. ^ NGILBERT (2017-01-18). "2017 Popular Paperbacks for Young Adults". Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA). Retrieved 2018-11-26.
  18. ^ a b Smith, Jennifer. "2016 Kentucky Bluegrass Award Master Lists". kba.nku.edu. Retrieved 2018-11-26.
  19. ^ a b "Complicit | Rhode Island Teen Book Award". riteenbookaward.org. Retrieved 2018-11-26.
  20. ^ THE SMALLER EVIL by Stephanie Kuehn | Kirkus Reviews.
  21. ^ "The Smaller Evil | Washington Independent Review of Books". www.washingtonindependentreviewofbooks.com. Retrieved 2018-11-26.
  22. ^ "The Smaller Evil by Stephanie Kuehn | SLJ Review". School Library Journal. Retrieved 2018-11-26.
  23. ^ "2015 PEN/Phyllis Naylor Working Writer Fellowship - PEN America". pen.org. 30 January 2015. Retrieved 2018-11-26.
  24. ^ "Children's Book Review: When I Am Through with You by Stephanie Kuehn. Dutton, $17.99 (304) ISBN 978-1-101-99473-3". PublishersWeekly.com. Retrieved 2021-07-02.
  25. ^ WHEN I AM THROUGH WITH YOU | Kirkus Reviews.