| Birth Place: | United States |
| Genre: | young adult fiction |
| Notableworks: | Charm & Strange, Delicate Monsters, Complicit |
| Children: | 3 |
| Awards: | William C. Morris Award 2014, Northern California Book Award 2016 |
| Years Active: | 2014-now |
| Alma Mater: | John F. Kennedy University, University of California, Santa Cruz |
| Language: | English |
| Education: | BA in Linguistics, MA in Sports Psychology, PsyD in Clinical Psychology |
Stephanie Kuehn is an American author of young adult fiction, best known for her William C. Morris Award-winning debut novel Charm & Strange, Delicate Monsters, and Complicit. Her novels often explore themes of mental illness and psychology.[1]
Kuehn wanted to be a filmmaker as a teen and grew up in Berkeley, California.[2] She grew up reading books by V.C. Andrews and Peter Straub.[3]
Kuehn attended John F. Kennedy University and the University of California, Santa Cruz. She has a bachelor's degree in linguistics, a master's degree in sports psychology, and a doctorate in clinical psychology.[4] [5]
Her background as a psychologist is one of the reasons why many of her novels have narrators who are dealing with mental health issues.[6]
She currently lives in Northern California with her husband and three children.[7]
Her debut young adult novel, Charm & Strange, was published by St. Martin's Griffin in 2014 and tells the story of a teenage athlete who believes he might be a werewolf.[8] Charm & Strange won the William C. Morris Award in 2014[9] and was nominated for a Carnegie Medal in 2014.[10]
Delicate Monsters, her sophomore novel, about the intersecting lives of three troubled teenagers, was published in 2015 by St. Martin's Griffin.[11] It won the Northern California Book Award in the category Children's Fiction for Older Readers in 2016.[12]
Her third novel, Complicit, about a teen dealing with the aftermath of his sister burning down a barn and being sentenced to juvenile detention, was published by St. Martin's Griffin in 2016.[13] Complicit was also on Booklist's 2014 Top 10 Crime Fiction for Youth,[14] the 2015 Reading List of the Texas Library Association,[15] YALSA's 2015 Top Ten Best Fiction for Young Adults list,[16] and YALSA's 2017 Popular Paperbacks for Young Adults list.[17] Complicit was also nominated for a Kentucky Bluegrass Award in 2016[18] and a Rhode Island Teen Book Award in 2016.[19]
Kuehn's fourth novel, The Smaller Evil, is about a teen who arrives at a self-help center to deal with his anxiety and chronic illness, but stumbled into strange happenings when the retreat leader appears not to be who he seems.[20] The Smaller Evil was published by Dutton in 2016.[21] It received a starred review from School Library Journal[22] Kuehn was awarded the PEN/Phyllis Naylor Working Writer Fellowship for The Smaller Evil in 2015.[23]
Her fifth novel, When I Am Through With You, was published by Dutton in 2017.[24] It received a starred review from Kirkus magazine.[25]
| Year | Title | Award | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | Charm & Strange | Winner | ||
| Nominee | ||||
| 2016 | Delicate Monsters | Northern California Book Award, Children's Fiction for Older Readers | Winner | |
| Complicit | Kentucky Bluegrass Award | Nominee | ||
| Rhode Island Teen Book Award | Nominee |