Kris Kneen


Kris Kneen is a Brisbane-based writer. Kneen has been shortlisted four times for the Queensland Premier's Literary Award.

Career

Kneen has written two collections of erotica—Swallow the Sound and Triptych —as well as four novels. They are also the author of three memoirs. Affection deals with their childhood and young adulthood through the lens of sexuality, The Three Burials of Lotty Kneen is principally about their grandmother, and Fat Girl Dancing concerns their relationship with their body. Their sole poetry collection, Eating my Grandmother, won the Thomas Shapcott Poetry Prize.
They appeared in four events at the 2017 Brisbane Writers Festival.

Style and critical reception

Kneen's work has been described as "transgressive, sardonic, lyrical, comic; irresistibly erotic yet also romantic" and "acclaimed for its fearless honesty".

Awards and nominations

Personal life

In 2009 Kneen moved to New Farm, Brisbane with their husband.
Their grandmother was born in Egypt to a Slovenian mother and a father who had lived in Egypt for at least three generations and whose mother was Syrian, and most likely Jewish.

Published works

Novels

Swallow the Sound, Eatbooks, 2007, Triptych, An Erotic Adventure: 3 Stories in 1, Text Publishing, 2011, Steeplechase, Text Publishing, 2013, The Adventures of Holly White and the Incredible Sex Machine, Text Publishing, 2015, An Uncertain Grace, Text Publishing, 2017, Wintering, Text Publishing, 2018,

Memoirs

Affection: A Memoir of Love, Sex & Intimacy, Text Publishing, 2009, The Three Burials of Lotty Kneen: Travels with My Grandmother's Ashes, Text Publishing, 2021, Fat Girl Dancing, Text Publishing, 2023,

Poetry

Eating My Grandmother: A Grief Cycle, University of Queensland Press, 2015,

Contributed chapter