Krissy Kneen Krissy Kneen i(A73241 works by) (a.k.a. Kris Kneen)
Born: Established: 1968 ;
Gender: Female
The material on this page is available to AustLit subscribers. If you are a subscriber or are from a subscribing organisation, please log in to gain full access. To explore options for subscribing to this unique teaching, research, and publishing resource for Australian culture and storytelling, please contact us or find out more.

Works By

Preview all
1 Death Is Not the End Krissy Kneen , 2024 single work short story
— Appears in: Spinning Around : The Kylie Playlist 2024; (p. 85-100)
1 Snakes and Dragons Krissy Kneen , 2024 single work essay
— Appears in: Science Write Now , no. 10 2024;

'How often do you think about what’s in the ground beneath your feet? The cavities and caverns, the small bodies that live in subdued light? In our tenth edition, our writers and artists explore the science of the underground, drawing our attention to that which is often out of sight.'  (Introduction)

1 Cinema i "I cry in the cinema", Krissy Kneen , 2024 single work poetry
— Appears in: Griffith Review , February no. 83 2024; (p. 68)
1 Memoir Author Kris Kneen on How to Write and Edit Your Story into a Compelling Book That Connects with Readers Krissy Kneen , 2023 single work column
— Appears in: ABC News [Online] , June 2023;
1 I Stripped Myself of Clothes and Shame. Then – On Stage – I Started to Dance Krissy Kneen , 2023 single work essay
— Appears in: The Guardian Australia , 23 May 2023;
1 7 y separately published work icon Fat Girl Dancing Krissy Kneen , Melbourne : Text Publishing , 2023 25676920 2023 single work autobiography

'Stella Prize-shortlisted author Kris Kneen examines their body through the lens of art and burlesque in this gorgeous, intimate story of fatness, beauty and self-knowledge.

'How does a person come to know that they are different from the children around them? To measure themselves against a set normal and find themselves lacking?

'When did I know that I was plump, and then fat?

'Fat child, self-denying adolescent, hungry young woman; a body now burgeoning uncontrolled into middle age. Kris Kneen has borne the usual indignities—the confrontations with clothes that won't fasten, with mirrors that defame, with strangers whose gaze judges and dismisses. This is the story of how Kris learned to look unblinkingly at their recalcitrant body, and ultimately found the courage to carry it to freedom.

'Fat Girl Dancing is a frank, beautiful and triumphant ode to self-respect from one of Australia's most original and acclaimed writers.' (Publication summary)

1 Eat Me in the City : Feasting for the End Times Kris Kneen Krissy Kneen , 2022 single work autobiography
— Appears in: Griffith Review , no. 78 2022; (p. 207-211)
1 The Visual Art of Writing or Krissy Kneen Carves Out a Book Krissy Kneen , 2021 single work essay
— Appears in: Science Write Now , November no. 5 2021;
1 y separately published work icon Dugongesque : An Essay by Krissy Kneen Krissy Kneen , 2021 23500264 2021 single work podcast 'Each year, the judges of the Calibre Essay Prize face the difficult task of selecting a winner from an impressive shortlist. Last year’s winner was Theodore Ell for ‘Facades of Lebanon’, an intimate chronicle of the 2020 port explosion in Beirut. In today’s episode, ABR turns to another impressive essay, ‘Dugongesque’, which was shortlisted for last year’s Calibre Essay Prize and appears in our upcoming December issue. Written by the award-winning Queensland author Krissy Kneen, ‘Dugongesque’ is a poignant exploration of identity, bodies, and death as Kneen embarks on a diving course bought for her by her partner. Listen to Kneen read her essay in full.' (Introduction)
 
1 5 y separately published work icon The Three Burials of Lotty Kneen : Travels with My Grandmother's Ashes Krissy Kneen , Melbourne : Text Publishing , 2021 20977686 2021 single work autobiography

'In her 2010 memoir, Affection, Krissy Kneen introduced readers to her unique family and the towering matriarchal figure of her grandmother. Stern, domineering, fiercely loving, Lotty Kneen—born Dragitsa—was always tight-lipped about her early life and family history. She rebuffed Krissy's curiosity and forbade her from taking the trip back to the old country that might have satisfied it.

'When her grandmother died recently, Krissy finally felt at liberty to explore the questions that had nagged at her for so long. In The Three Burials of Lotty Kneen Krissy sets out with a box containing her grandmother's ashes, intending to trace the old woman's early life in Slovenia and Egypt, and perhaps locate some remnants of family. Along the way she uncovers the extraordinary story of the colony of Slovene women who became the nannies of choice for the wealthy Italians of pre-war Alexandria-and identifies as best she can the places where Lotty's restless, demanding spirit will be at peace.' (Publication summary)

1 Words Come in Waves i "We take our measure of the universe", Krissy Kneen , 2020 single work poetry
— Appears in: Science Write Now , September no. 2 2020;
1 The Universe in Aspic i "Oh the things they did with gelatine", Krissy Kneen , 2020 single work poetry
— Appears in: Science Write Now , September no. 2 2020;
1 Back and Forth Krissy Kneen , 2020 single work extract novel
— Appears in: Science Write Now , August no. 1 2020;
1 Iso-weight Krissy Kneen , 2020 single work autobiography
— Appears in: Meanjin , Spring vol. 79 no. 3 2020;

'The email notification startles me. It is from Virgin Airlines. Get ready to fly soon. When I click into the notification, Virgin—an airline that has entered voluntary administration—tells me that my direct flight to Tasmania has been changed to three separate flights spread over eight hours. I will be flying from Brisbane to Sydney, then from Sydney to Melbourne, then, after quite a wait, from Melbourne to Hobart.' (Introduction)

1 y separately published work icon The Walker Krissy Kneen , Canberra : ABC Radio National , 2020 19708235 2020 single work short story podcast horror

'As floodwaters rise on a central Queensland property, repressed memories emerge of a trauma left behind.'

Source: Radio National Fictions.

1 Aleksandrinke Krissy Kneen , 2019 single work autobiography
— Appears in: Griffith Review , no. 66 2019; (p. 101-115)
1 Sexy Old Women Krissy Kneen , 2018 single work autobiography
— Appears in: Women of a Certain Age 2018;
1 Winter Cave Krissy Kneen , 2018 single work short story
— Appears in: Island , no. 154 2018; (p. 30-35)
1 2 y separately published work icon Wintering Krissy Kneen , Melbourne : Text Publishing , 2018 13939860 2018 single work novel mystery

'‘Hello. Jessica Weir? I’m sorry, miss, but this was the last number—’ ‘Matthew’s on his way home. He should be here soon.’ And only the ocean breathing into the silence as if her own chest were rising and falling without fail. As if his heart were still beating. As if nothing in the world had changed. ‘We’ve found a car, miss. No sign of a driver.’

'WHEN Jessica’s partner disappears into the dark Tasmanian forest, there is of course the mystery of what happened—the deserted car, the enigmatic final image on his phone. There is the strange circle of local women, widows of disappeared men, with their edgy fellowship and unhinged theories. And the forest itself: looming over this tiny settlement on the remote tip of the island.

'But for Jessica there is also the tight community in which she is still a stranger and Matthew was not. What secrets do they know about her own life that she doesn’t? And why do they believe things that should not—cannot—be true? For her own sanity, Jessica needs to know two things. Who was Matthew? And who—or what—has he become?'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

1 The Body in a Body Krissy Kneen , 2018 single work drama

'The exploration of the flesh begins here. Inspired by Krissy Kneen’s best-selling memoir, The Body In a Body blurs the line between truth and fiction. 

'Kneen, a fifty year old writer meets Rose, an ex-lover, on a long haul flight. Krissy hasn’t seen Rose for thirty years and this sudden unexpected meeting brings back memories of her sexually voracious, twenty year old self. 

'The Body In a Body is play about women’s bodies, how they age, how they change and how these changes are perceived by others. It explores sexuality and the harsh realities of being a sexual person in an ageing body, while challenging current social ideals of thinness, youth, heterosexuality and unachievable beauty standards. 

'This is a play that asks the hard questions, what do you think about your own body and what would happen if you were kinder to yourself? All is in flux, everything changes. The one immutable element is the fact of a body.' (Production summary)
 

X