Karen Heard – Fiction Writer
Karen Heard is the fiction-writing pen name of Karen Sheard, a London-based writer and theatre director.
I write dark literary fantasy, informed by prose fiction, theatre craft and an interest in the uncanny, the psychological and the conceptual. I also try to throw in a healthy amount of humour into my work.
My short stories can be found online and on Amazon. I am currently in the final stages of writing my first novel.
Writing and Theatre Expertise
Find out more about the work that I have done to date.
Literary Portfolio
Read a selection of short stories by Karen Heard
Theatrical Work
View images and details from past performances.
Journalism
Read a selection of articles written by Karen Sheard.
Full Biography: Karen Heard Fiction Writer
I grew up in Yorkshire and moved to London in my twenties to study writing at university. I now work by day as a content manager and in my spare time as a fiction writer and theatre director.
Writing and Directing
I started out in prose fiction, building my craft through short stories, anthologies and competitions. I chose the pen name Karen Heard for my stories to differentiate my fiction writing from my professional journalism/content writing. Around ten years ago, I moved into theatre because I wanted to deepen my understanding of dialogue and character.
The two disciplines are not separate for me. Fiction taught me about mythic structure and interiority: the gap between what is thought and what is spoken. Theatre taught me about scene and action: two people with something unresolved between them. Together, they gave me a more complete understanding of story than either could alone.
In theatre, I found natural allies in actors and crew who love to talk about character and story as much as I do. I came for the characterisation techniques but stayed for the characters.
Training
I took a career break to train at Royal Holloway with practitioners associated with the Royal Court, the National Theatre, Forest Fringe, and Goat Island, and I’ve been applying that training ever since.
Content Management
Alongside my creative practice, I work full-time in digital content and SEO. That parallel life has given me more than twenty years’ experience in how audiences find, read and respond to writing online.
My Style
My fiction draws on everything I’ve learned about story, and on the particular clarity that comes from having lived enough to look at human nature without flinching.
The name Misheard Fiction belongs to my fiction writing. It is the place where fiction and theatre meet and discover they were always asking the same questions.
Current activities
I’m based between Surrey and London. I read voraciously, direct carefully, and write as honestly as I can manage.
I am currently working on my debut novel, a work of dark literary fantasy. More details when there’s news to share.
Get in touch with Karen Heard
I’m interested in a range of writing and theatre projects and sometimes open to collaboration. If you have something you would like to discuss with me, feel free to get in touch.
