Karen E. Bender Short Story Collections books in order

Reading order

Karen E. Bender’s three story collections chart a progression from domestic realism toward more experimental and speculative fiction. Refund (2015), a National Book Award finalist, established her reputation with sharp stories about people under financial and emotional pressure – swindlers, desperate artists, and families fighting over money that stands in for deeper grievances.

The New Order (2018) responds to a changed political landscape, with stories addressing gun violence, bigotry, and institutional breakdown. The Words of Dr. L continues this trajectory into speculative territory, featuring stories about forgotten children, orbiting parents, and people searching for meaning in increasingly strange circumstances. Across all three collections, Bender’s focus on family, money, and the gap between what people want and what they can have holds the work together.