Karen Stollznow

Dr. Karen Stollznow is a bestselling author, linguist, and broadcaster whose work spans non-fiction, fiction, and podcasting.

Her non-fiction books include Beyond Words: How We Learn, Use, and Lose Language; Bitch: The Journey of a Word; Missed Conceptions: How We Make Sense of Infertility; On the Offensive: Prejudice in Language Past and Present; Language Myths, Mysteries and Magic; God Bless America; Haunting America; and Would You Believe It?

She also writes fiction, with works ranging from the short story collection Fisher's Ghost and Other Stories to the novel Hits & Mrs. and numerous short stories, including Unforeseen Circumstances; Don't Leave Me; Welcome Home; The Dark Road; I Am Me; Room for One More: Lord Dufferin's Tale; The Screaming Skull; The Way We Weren’t; Leap of Faith (The Guardian Angel); Oliver & Olivia; The Legend of Abraham Lincoln's Ghost Train; and The Walsingham Ghosts.

Karen is co-host of the award-winning science podcast MonsterTalk, where she investigates folklore, urban legends, and the paranormal with a skeptical eye.

She holds a PhD in Linguistics and has taught at universities in the United States and Australia. She previously worked as a researcher at the University of California, Berkeley, and is currently a Visiting Scholar at the University of Colorado, Boulder.

Born in Sydney, Australia, Karen now lives in Denver, Colorado.