Beth Kander

Agent: Allison Hellegers

Beth Kander is an author and playwright with tangled roots in the Midwest and Deep South.

The granddaughter of immigrants, she is interested in the intersection of new ideas and identities with old stories, secrets, and legends. She has a Master of Social Work degree from the University of Michigan and an MFA in Creative Writing from Mississippi University for Women. Beth is the resident playwright for Ashland New Plays Festival in Oregon and was a founding board member of Fondren Theatre Workshop in Jackson, Mississippi. She is a frequent teacher, guest artist, and workshop facilitator.

Recent awards and honors include a 2020 Indie Forward Award (Born in Syn), 2019-2020 Henry Award for Best New Play or Musical (Hazardous Materials), and 2019 Pitch Wars (13 Jericho Lane), among others. She is a past Mississippi Arts Commission Literary Fellow and Eudora Welty Award winner, and has written for commercials, documentaries, and MPB television. She also does occasional voiceover work, and is a lead station voice for WJTV.

Beth’s current projects include verse novels, fast-paced YA full of twists and turns, newish-Jewish folklore, and children's books. She lives in Chicago with her favorite characters (her quirky little family) and definitely believes in ghosts, or something like them.

Instagram, Twitter, Website