Katie Tallo

After studying English, Film, and TV Broadcasting, Katie forged an award-winning career as a writer and director producing short films, motion pictures, documentaries, broadcast-television series, commercials, animation and video projects. In her forties, after winning an international contest for unpublished fiction, she also began writing novels, becoming an internationally bestselling author published by HarperCollins. Her novels include Dark August, Poison Lilies, and Buried Road.

Studying English Literature at Carleton helped shape and guide my creative path. I remember studying Southern American literature and to this day, I still love those authors and cherish those books. I believe that my own fiction is deeply informed by those works. My English professors introduced me to authors and books I might never have read otherwise, taught me how to think critically about story, theme, structure, and character, and inspired my love of reading and writing—all at a time in my life when I was trying to figure out my path. My years at Carleton were definitely formative in my creative journey.