Kris Saknussemm received a B.A. with Distinction from Dartmouth College, double majoring in English and Native American Studies. He holds an M.A. from the University of Washington where he was the Robertson Fellow. His first novel Zanesville was nominated for the Philip K. Dick Award and has gone on to be a cult favorite in translation in Russia and Poland. His novel Private Midnight achieved bestseller status in France and Italy. His work The Memory Wound won First Prize in the Missouri Review Audio Play competition, and the film of his published play The Humble Assessment (which was the featured work at the Las Vegas Fringe Festival and has also been staged in Australia and Sweden) has been screened at 17 international festivals, including two of the world's most prestigious LGBTQ events. His short fiction has won First Prize in the Boston Review Short Story Contest and First Prize in the River Styx Short Short Fiction Contest. In poetry, he has won Australia's Newcastle Poetry Prize and the Mary Gilmore Award. His journalism has appeared in over 300 newspapers and magazines worldwide. His professional photography has appeared in many publications. Two fine arts books of his paintings and visual art have been published in France.