Prairie Lights Reading: Karen Parkman – The Jills

Iowa Writers’ Workshop graduate Karen Parkman will read from her new novel, The Jills. Listed by both PEOPLE Magazine and CrimeReads as a “best book of February,” The Jills is praised by Chloe Benjamin, New York Times bestselling author of The Immortalists, as “a nuanced, incisive exploration of the world of NFL cheerleading—and the complex power of sisterhood, both familial and chosen,” while Andrea Bartz, New York Times bestselling author of The Last Ferry Out and We Were Never Here, says: “Parkman’s character-driven mystery comes roaring out of the gate with all the poise and power of an NFL athlete. With its nuanced character work, propulsive prose, and intricate web of secrets and lies, The Jills is an unforgettable debut. I couldn’t put it down.”

Karen Parkman holds an MFA from the Iowa Writers’ Workshop. Her work has been supported by MacDowell, Yaddo, the Sozopol Fiction Seminars, Virginia Center for the Creative Arts, and the Vermont Studio Center. Karen’s stories have appeared in Michigan Quarterly Review, Joyland, and elsewhere. She has taught writing at the University of Iowa, the Iowa Young Writers’ Studio, and Kirkwood Community College. The Jills is her debut novel.