ABOUT

My name is Sarah Kokernot and I’m a fiction writer and essayist. (Secretly I’m also a poet.) I write because others have touched me through their work and I hope to touch someone through mine. My writing has appeared or is forthcoming in The Best American Short Stories, The New York Times, Tricycle, EPOCH, Michigan Quarterly Review, Crazyhorse, West Branch, Lady Churchill’s Rosebud Wristlet, and other publications.

You find a selection of published works on this page. I’m currently finishing my first novel and working on a book of essays.

I grew up in Kentucky in a queer family the 80’s and 90’s. I found refuge in books, nature, chosen family, and the numinous. Like many artists, I’ve struggled to balance creating from a place that feels true to my lived (and often deeply weird) experience with the demands of the commercial market. After writing and publishing for fifteen years, I’ve learned that I value genuine connection and authenticity most of all.

Currently, I live near Chicago with my husband and our two children. I work as an artist in residence at Northwestern University and as a nonprofit consultant at StoryStudio, a creative writing center.

I draw on my professional experience to work as a creativity and writing coach and as a manuscript consultant. You can read more about my coaching philosophy and methods here.

I’m a long-time Buddhist meditator who is interested in the connection between spiritual practice and creative process. I write a bi-weekly newsletter on writing into the numinous and wild, witchy Buddhism at This Is All Going Away.

For updates, favorite poems, writing inspiration, and slow-mo reels of flipping through book pages, follow me on Instagram @ yes_like_coconut.

If you’re interested in working with me as a coach, please fill out the contact form below to book a free 15-minute session. If we both feel like it’s a good fit, we’ll move on from there!