Bio

Karen Bayly’s passion for writing began as a child when she wrote soap operas for her dolls to perform under her creative direction. These days it’s her biology PhD, research background, and general dismay at the way the world is going that informs her writing, a fusion of science fiction, horror, and fantasy.

However, she dabbles in literary fiction and screenplays as well. She received an Honourable Mention for The Waiting in the Mainstream/ Literary Short Story Category, 73rd Writer’s Digest Competition. In 2016, she reached the quarterfinals of Screencraft’s Cinematic Short Story Competition with Daphne’s Dance. In the same year, her short science fiction screenplay, The Reconciled, reached the quarterfinals of Screencraft’s Short Screenplay Competition.

Her short stories, flash fiction, and poems have appeared in journals such as Toasted Cheese, Overland, Yellow Mama Webzine, Skive Magazine, Voluted Tales, and Every Day Fiction. Her stories have been featured in anthologies from Black Beacon Press, Black Hare Press, and Crystal Lake Publishing.

In 2019, Mary Celeste Press published Karen’s first novel, Fortitude, a steampunk adventure. Two companion stories have followed: “Foul Beasts” in Black Beacon Press’s anthology, Murder and Machinery, and “The Clockwork Witch” in Black Hare Press’s Punk anthology. Fortitude is currently unavailable but watch this space!

In 2022, Black Hare Press published her novelette, Tesato’s Code.

She lives in the outer suburbs of Sydney, Australia, with two cats, a guitar, and a ukulele.