Kara Knickerbocker

Poet

Pittsburgh, PA
Pennsylvania US
Twitter/X: 

Author's Bio

Kara Knickerbocker is an internationally published writer and world traveler from Saegertown, Pennsylvania and the author of the chapbooks The Shedding Before the Swell (dancing girl press) and Next to Everything that is Breakable (Finishing Line Press). She earned her BA in English from Westminster College and her MFA at Carlow University/Trinity College Dublin. Her poetry and essays have appeared in: Poet Lore, HOBART, Portland Review, SWWIM Daily, among others, and the anthologies Voices from the Attic, Crack the Spine, Pennsylvania’s Best Emerging Poets, and Dostoyevsky Wannabe Cities: Pittsburgh Anthology, and more. A multiple Pushcart and Best of the Net nominee, she won second place in The Nasiona’s Micro-Nonfiction tournament, was a finalist in The Lumiere Review Poetry Contest, and longlisted for the BIFFY50 Micro-Fiction award. She was a finalist for the Enchanted Travels Travel Writing Award, shortlisted for the I Must Be Off! Travel Writing Award, and her poetry collections won first place in their category at the Sigma Tau Delta International English Convention.  Her work has received support from Murphy Writing of Stockton University, Martha’s Vineyard Institute of Creative Writing, and the Gullkistan Center in Iceland. She writes with the Madwomen in the Attic at Carlow University and co-curated the MadFridays Reading Series. Find her online at www.karaknickerbocker.com.

Publications & Prizes

Anthologies:
Sh!t Men Say to Me (Moon Tide Press, 2021)
,
Crack the Spine (Crack the Spine, 2020)
,
The Pittsburgh Anthology (Dostoyevsky Wannabe, 2020)
,
Pennsylvania's Best Emerging Poets (CreateSpace, 2019)
Chapbooks:
The Shedding Before the Swell (Dancing Girl Press, 2018)
,
Next to Everything That is Breakable (Finishing Line Press, 2017)
Journals:
Amaryllis
,
Amethyst Review
,
Anti-Heroin Chic
, ,
Cabildo Quarterly
, ,
Construction
,
CP Quarterly
,
Daily Drunk
, ,
Elevation Review
,
Emerge Literary Journal
, ,
Fahmidan Journal
,
FEED
, ,
Ink In Thirds
, , ,
Levee Magazine
, ,
Lumiere Review
,
Mark Literary Review
,
Meniscus
, ,
Months To Years
,
Multiplicity Literary Magazine
, ,
Okay Donkey
,
One Art
,
One Sentence Poems
,
Parentheses
, , ,
Poiesis
, , , ,
Red Eft Review
, ,
Rune
,
Sampsonia Way
,
Second Chance Lit
, , ,
Sledgehammer Lit
, , ,
Taco Bell Quarterly
, ,
Trouvaille Review
,
Uppagus
,
Versification
, ,
Writing in a Woman's Voice
Prizes won: 

August 2021Poem “To the Limit” was a finalist in the Coastal Shelf Ceiling 200 Contest

May 2021Awarded Poetry Fellowship for Martha’s Vineyard Institute of Creative Writing

March 2021Longlisted for The BIFFY50 Microfiction Competition

March 20211st Place Winner of The Poiesis Review Poetry Prompt Contest

March 2021– Finalist in The Lumiere Review Writing Contest (Poetry)

December 2020– Awarded Scholarship from Murphy Writing of Stockton University for 2021 Winter Poetry & Prose Getaway

November 2020– Residency awarded for 2021 from Arteles Center for Creative Arts, Finland

November 2020– Residency awarded for 2021 from Gullkistan Center, Iceland

November 2020– Scholarship from Murphy Writing at Stockton University

October 2020– Finalist (2nd place) The Nasiona Poetry Tournament

March 2019- 2nd Place in Creative Paper (Poetry) at the Sigma Tau Delta International English Convention

December 2018– Lifelong Deltan Scholarship, Alumni Chapter of Sigma Tau Delta

March 2018- 2nd Place in Creative Paper (Poetry) at the Sigma Tau Delta International English Convention

September 2017- Finalist, Enchanted Travels Travel Writing Award

August 2017- Shortlisted for the 2017 I Must Be Off! Travel Writing Award

March 2017- 1st Place in Creative Paper (Poetry) & Honorable Mention for Creative Paper (Poetry) on the Common Reader Theme for Alumni at the Sigma Tau Delta International English Convention

March 2016- 1st Place in Creative Paper (Poetry) for Alumni at the Sigma Tau Delta International English Convention

More Information

Gives readings: 
Yes
Travels for readings: 
Yes
Identifies as: 
White
Fluent in: 
English
Born in: 
Meadville, PA
Pennsylvania
Please note: All information in the Directory is provided by the listed writers or their representatives.
Last update: Oct 02, 2025