Your Questions, Answered
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S. K. Kruse is a fiction writer whose debut short story collection, Tales From the Liminal, was published by Deuxmers in 2021, followed by the Study Edition in 2025. Her work has appeared in a variety of literary magazines and has been longlisted for the John Steinbeck Award for Fiction. She is the founder of The Liminal Essay Contest and and creator of the Tell the Story of Your Soul course. Her forthcoming novel Of Beginnings and Ends (Deuxmers, 2026) will be released September 8. She is a two-time prizewinner in the National League of American Pen Women’s Soul-Making Keats Literary Competition.
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Yes. She is a two-time prizewinner in the National League of American Pen Women’s Soul-Making Keats Literary Competition — Third Prize in 2015 for Of Beginnings and Ends (under her former pen name, Alessandra Black) and Third Prize in 2020 for That Which Remains.
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Tales From the Liminal is a short story collection of fifteen curious and delightful stories. Using humor and horror, satire and allegory, fabulism and realism, the collection takes readers on an extraordinary ride into spaces where anything is possible, especially transformation. It has been described as “delightfully strange and endlessly thought-provoking.”
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The book is available in print and audio formats through Bookshop, Amazon, Audible, Spotify, Apple Books, and more.
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Yes! The audiobook was released in August 2023. A free 5-minute sample is available on the website.
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THE LIMINAL is a time, place, or state of being that’s betwixt and between. Neither here nor there. If it’s a time, it might be dawn or dusk, or the changing of the seasons. If it’s a place, it might be a staircase, airport, or empty playground. If it’s a state of being, it might be the experience of not fitting into the world’s tidy categories, or no longer fitting into your own tidy categories but being unable to find your way out of them yet. If this is the case, you didn’t end up there by accident. Something new is emerging in you, and for that to happen, some old things need to fall away. Darkness, confusion, and disorientation are to be expected. Just make sure you let the liminal do its work in you. You’ll be glad you did. Ready to go deeper? Start with What Is the Liminal? — the front door of The Liminal Hub.
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The Liminal Hub is the free learning center of skkruse.com — a growing guide to all things liminal. It begins with the pillar page and branches into liminal times, liminal spaces, liminal states, practices for navigating the in-between, the trap of the liminal, and liminality in the modern world, with new in-depth articles added regularly. Begin at What Is the Liminal?
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A liminal space is a transitional place that belongs fully to neither where you’ve come from nor where you’re going — hallways, staircases, airports, waiting rooms, empty playgrounds. Familiar yet strangely vacant, these places often stir an uncanny feeling, which is why the “liminal spaces” aesthetic fascinates the internet. The idea runs far deeper than the aesthetic, though. Read more on the blog: Liminal Spaces: Where the Familiar Turns Strange
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Not according to S. K. Kruse! The liminal, while marked by darkness, confusion, and disorientation, is presented as a meaningful and necessary phase. If you find yourself there, it is because something new is emerging in you — and you’ll be glad you let the liminal do its work. Read more about the pain and possibility of the in-between at What Is the Liminal?
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Yes. The Betwixt & Between: Discovering the Gift of the Liminal Resource Packet is available as a free download. It contains an 8-module, 100+ slide introduction to liminality, a teacher guide, assessments, and more. It is free to share for non-commercial use and can be downloaded from the “What Is the Liminal?” page on the site.
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The Study Edition contains twelve stories from the original collection, along with an introduction to the liminal, writing prompts, pre-reading and post-reading discussion questions. More FREE teacher resources available in the Betwixt & Between download packet!
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Print copies can be ordered through Bookshop; print and e-books are also available on Amazon. If your school district requires estimates or invoices and cannot make direct purchases, you can contact S. K. Kruse to make special arrangements.
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What is the Liminal Essay Contest?The Liminal Essay Contest is an annual writing contest for high school and college students, sponsored by S. K. Kruse and the Guild for Engaged Liminality. It is now in its 4th year and has been selected for inclusion in Minnesota’s High School Reach for the Stars program.
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High school students (including homeschoolers) and undergraduate college students enrolled for the current spring semester at an accredited institution are eligible to enter the high school and college divisions, respectively. Past winners, and friends, students, or relatives of the judges, are not eligible.
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Contestants write a 700 to 1,000 word essay on an aspect or aspects of liminality in one of the stories from Tales From the Liminal. A free copy of the story is available to download — no purchase is required.
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Both the high school and college competitions offer $150 for 1st place, $100 for 2nd place, and $50 for 3rd place. Winners who are receiving scholarship funds must provide proof of enrollment.
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The 4th Annual contest submission period (January 1 through March 1, 2026) is now closed. Check back in the fall of 2026 for information on the 5th Annual Liminal Essay Contest.
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Essays must use standard MLA formatting, must remove all identifying information from the essay document, and must include only the contestant’s initials (with the essay title and page number) in the header of each page. Essays must be submitted as .docx or .pdf files only.
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This is a contest for human-generated ideas. Contestants may use AI tools to copyedit or tighten a sentence, but must not use AI to generate ideas or formulate arguments. Contestants are asked to sign an integrity pledge at the time of submission.
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The 4th Annual contest was judged by Dr. Timothy Carson (high school essays), Professor of Liminal Studies at the University of Missouri Honors College, and Dr. Mary Lane Potter (college essays), author of The Body Leads the Way: Ritual, Liminality, and Imagination.
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Winners are notified, announced on the website and social media, and S. K. Kruse schedules a live virtual author visit with winning classes to discuss the contest, writing, and the power of the liminal.
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Tell the Story of Your Soul is a self-paced online course created by S. K. Kruse. Through guided prompts and a gentle, step-by-step process, you’ll gather traces from your past and present and begin to give them form — in whatever creative medium feels most like you. Whether that’s words, music, painting, gardening, or making things with your hands, this course is an invitation to turn toward your own story with full, unhurried attention. Visit skkruse.com to find out more. Questions about worksheets, downloads, and sharing are answered in the Course FAQ.
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Yes. Tell the Story of Your Soul is also available as a print course and guided journal — the same soul-journey framework in a beautiful keepsake format, designed for writing by hand. Visit the print course and journal page for details and ordering.
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Betwixt & Between: Discovering the Gift of the Liminal is a free resource packet created by S. K. Kruse. Whether you’re a teacher looking for classroom-ready materials on the concept of liminality or simply curious about what the liminal means, this downloadable packet offers accessible, thoughtful content to help you explore the idea. It’s available for free on the Essay Contest page at skkruse.com.
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Yes! S. K. Kruse’s new novel Of Beginnings and Ends, a prizewinner in the Soul-Making Keats Literary Competition, will be released September 8, 2026 by Deuxmers. Stay connected through her website at skkruse.com, her newsletter, and social media to be among the first to hear updates about its release.
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Yes. S. K. Kruse welcomes inquiries about speaking engagements, retreats, private courses, conference appearances, and author visits — in person or virtual. Share a few details about your event or project on the Speaking page.
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te·log·ra·phy (tə-ˈlä-grə-fē) n.
[< Gk. telos, end, purpose + -graphia, writing] The story of a soul; an account of one's becoming.If you’re interested in created you own, find out more about S. K. Kruse’s course, Tell the Story of Your Soul.
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