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) is the winner of the NLAPW’s Soul-Making Keats Literary Award.

Yes. She has won two Soul-Making Keats Literary Awards from the National League of American Pen Women — one for her novel Of Beginnings and Ends (2015) and another for her novel That Which Remains (2020).

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.”

The book is available in print and audio formats through Bookshop, Amazon, Audible, Spotify, Apple Books, and more.

Yes! The audiobook was released in August 2023. A free 5-minute sample is available on the website.

The liminal is a time, place, or state of being that is betwixt and between — neither here nor there. As a time, it might be a summer of travel, a year of illness, or a period of war. As a place, it might be a staircase, airport, or refugee camp. As a state of being, it might mean not fitting into the world’s tidy categories, or no longer fitting into your own categories while feeling unable to move forward yet.

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.

Yes. The Betwixt & Between: Discovering the Gift of the Liminal Resource Packet is available as a free download. It contains a 6-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.

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!

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Yes! S. K. Kruse’s new award-winning novel Of Beginnings and Ends will be released September 7, 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.