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ABOUT
Kristin Carlson is an award-winning playwright whose work has been developed and produced by Aspen Stage, TACAW, Thunder River Theatre Company, VintageTheatre, The Chicago Snapshot Festival, the National AACT Festival, and the Playwrights Showcase of the Western Region. She was awarded a Write Change Scholarship from the Dramatists Guild Fund, and a screenplay version of her play, Unmarried in America, is in development with AEC Studios.
Most recently, she wrote and co-directed her first short film, Marginal, which was selected as one of the top three summer shorts by the 2024 Santa Barbara Indie Film Festival. Kristin is also an avid, multi-genre reader and writer, whose poetry, fiction, and essays have appeared in publications including The Asheville Poetry Review, Shark Reef Literary Journal, and Writer’s Digest Magazine.
She is a sucker for flawed-humans-doing-their-best stories. Her prose, plays, screenplays, and poetry expose the absurdities of being alive in our beautiful, broken world. Her work explores political movements and family systems, celebrates dead poets and living climate change activists, and generally strives to shift perspectives and open minds — including her own.
Lorea Canales
​
Author of Becoming Marta
KD's edits were spot on, incredibly sharp and precise, like those of an expert surgeon. I felt she completely understood what I was doing and respected my writing, yet she stood over the text like a guardian. It was as if she gazed over my shoulder, very delicately pointing out impressions, imperfections or mistakes — yes, we all have them, and she can see them! She brings so much to the table — a lifetime of deep reading experience, her own work as a writer, an impeccable ear and rigorous grammar. A text, and an author, usually benefit from an extra set of eyes that are not only intelligent and experienced, but also kind and generous. She has it all."
Eleanor Shelton
Fiction Writer and Novelist
I always know that my writing is in good hands with Kristin. She carefully reads my work and seems to understand immediately what I'm trying to do and what my story needs to make it better. She treats my writing with the same care she would her own. Nobody edits my work better!
Stan Badgett
Author of Rock Dust and A Carnival of Poems and Other Curiosities
"We were colleagues in the sense of being fellow writers who are friends. Kristin is a keen, lively, highly conscientious writer. One of the best."
Tom Stevens
Three-Time Finalist for
The Claymore Writing Award
I started working with Kristin Carlson in 2017 with little writing experience, a
rough draft with a multi-layered plot, and thousands of words flying in loose formation.
Through her expert editing, she taught me the writing craft — things I could have never
learned in an MFA program. She edits through a reader’s eyes and knows how to deliver a punch. I now have nine novels and am once again on the shortlist for the Claymore Award for a best-unpublished manuscript. I’ve won a national short story contest featured on a popular podcast. Thanks to her, I’m on the verge of publishing my novels and have two stories in national magazines. You will never work with a better editor or person. Choosing her to edit my work is the best decision I’ve ever made, and she is singularly responsible for my success.
Sheri Gaynor
Author of Creative Awakenings Envisioning the Life of your Dreams Through Art
Kristin Carlson was an invaluable part of my book publishing process. In 2009 I was offered a book contract through a publishing house. Although I had an editor through the house, Kristin was able to support me by doing a read through prior to delivery. Her edits and suggestions were excellent, and it was fantastic to have a second set of eyes on my writing. I felt very confident delivering my finished book knowing that Kristin had used her expertise to guide me to a coherent and professional final draft.
​ "K.D. has been my go-to for any of my editing and writing needs for my business. She asks the right questions to get started and delivers a great product. During the process she is accessible and timely. I’m always impressed with her creativity. She has a way of effortlessly allowing the words to flow onto the page as if she has read my mind. I wish more businesses had her professionalism in how she checks in, gives feedback and works easily through the process whether a small or large project."
Olga Nohra
Senior Art Director at Zyloware
"I had the pleasure of working with K.D. for ten years at an in-house ad agency. She's an amazing copywriter and knows just how to get an impactful message across in the most creative way possible. I only wish I were still working with her. Her talent is hard to come by."