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![]() THE SHORT TALL LETTER - Karen on Substack If you'd like to receive a monthly funny, thoughtful, inspiring, gay, letter-cum-life writing essay from Karen please subscribe here. |

Karen McLeod is a writer, performance artist and creative writing tutor and writer-in-residence at Bookseller Crow. Her debut novel, In Search of the Missing Eyelash, was published by Jonathan Cape and won the Betty Trask Award and was translated widely. In June 2024 it has been celebrated by being republished by Muswell Press.
She wrote In Search of the Missing Eyelash in hotel rooms across the globe while working as cabin crew. Coming full circle, her memoir, Lifting Off (Muswell Press, June 2024) is about the years she worked, and went into free-fall, as cabin crew. You can order a signed copy here.
When she's not writing, she can be found performing as self-appointed Poet Laureate of Penge, Barbara Brownskirt.
Described by The Sunday Times as "Rik Mayall meets performance art" Barbara Brownskirt regularly tours UK festivals, art, cabaret and theatre venues with LGBTQ+ Literary salon POLARI, the performance art co-operative DUCKIE, as well as other festivals and producers.
Employed as Writer-in-Residence at the Bookseller Crow, Karen has developed a series of popular creative writing workshops which run at the bookshop. She has worked with Shakespeare's archive trust, Norwich Writers' Centre and is a tutor for the Arvon Foundation. She holds an MA in Creative & Life Writing from Goldsmiths University and is represented by Laura Susijn at The Susijn Literary Agency.
She wrote In Search of the Missing Eyelash in hotel rooms across the globe while working as cabin crew. Coming full circle, her memoir, Lifting Off (Muswell Press, June 2024) is about the years she worked, and went into free-fall, as cabin crew. You can order a signed copy here.
When she's not writing, she can be found performing as self-appointed Poet Laureate of Penge, Barbara Brownskirt.
Described by The Sunday Times as "Rik Mayall meets performance art" Barbara Brownskirt regularly tours UK festivals, art, cabaret and theatre venues with LGBTQ+ Literary salon POLARI, the performance art co-operative DUCKIE, as well as other festivals and producers.
Employed as Writer-in-Residence at the Bookseller Crow, Karen has developed a series of popular creative writing workshops which run at the bookshop. She has worked with Shakespeare's archive trust, Norwich Writers' Centre and is a tutor for the Arvon Foundation. She holds an MA in Creative & Life Writing from Goldsmiths University and is represented by Laura Susijn at The Susijn Literary Agency.