Amanda Kallis
Amanda Kallis

Amanda Kallis

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Amanda Kallis - (pronounced ‘KAY-Liss’)

Amanda is a writer with an MFA in Fiction from the Iowa Writers’ Workshop. Originally from Los Angeles, she lives in Toronto with her husband and cat. She writes primarily speculative fiction, as well as essays and poetry.

Her work has appeared in Catapult, the Black Warrior Review (nonfiction contest winner), McSweeney's Internet Tendency, The Cincinnati Review, and elsewhere.

She’s taught creative writing courses at The University of Toronto School of Continuing Studies, Catapult, the University of Iowa, and elsewhere.

She was an Edward Albee Foundation artist-in-residence and winner of the Imagination Unbound fellowship at Under the Volcano.

She also writes Collected Fictions, a Substack on the literary / speculative fiction boundaries.

Here she is hugging a robot

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  • Iowa Writers’ Workshop MFA. Fiction. 2017

  • I’m working on two speculative novels at the moment. Here’s a peek at one:

    We are not on any map. My birth certificate lists a P.O. Box thirty miles away, in a city I’ve never been. This is how it is for the people who are born in our company town, and on the death certificates for those who have died here, too. Our home is at the town’s edge, where the desert meets the green lawns. Beyond our yard is the wash, a flood basin. It has no water in it as there has been no rain. Where we are in the foothills, the wash is left natural and broad. Down the valley, past city limits, it narrows to concrete channels funneling west to ocean, but you can't know that from here; there's too much haze and it’s too far. The laboratory lies opposite the wash, hemmed in by the sifter nets. Even when you can’t see the nets, you can take a deep breath and know they are there. You can take a deep breath because they are there, filtering the toxic dust, claiming this patch of Southern California desert. At their tops, floating lights blink to alert low-flying aircraft, although we live in a no-fly zone. 

  • “The Great Escape” | Speculative Fiction Workshop

    Enroll here at the University of Toronto School of Continuing Studies

    Fantasy and science fiction allow writers and readers to step outside familiar boundaries into imaginary worlds. In this workshop-style course, you'll learn the elements of both genres and get feedback from a community of writers as you craft the first draft of a new short story. You'll explore the foundations of world-building, plot, scene-setting, character development, and dialogue, as well as honing your critiquing skills. You'll also find out more about the business side of writing fantasy and science fiction.

    More resources & info

    ☆☆click here for the private class site☆☆

  • Subscribe to Collected Fictions to receive a monthly update on my writing, what books I’m reading, & just to keep in touch!

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