An unapologetic ode to female rage, lust, and grief
An interview with Kristen Zory King, the author of Ladies, Ladies, Ladies
By Samantha Segal
Kristen Zory King is a D.C.-based author whose work extends beyond the page. King is not only a published author, but a yoga instructor, creative consultant, and the founder of MoonLit, an organization that hosts literary workshops and creative community programming throughout the Washington, D.C. area. As an active member of the literary community, she has spent a decade and a half working with staple literary organizations such as Busboys and Poets and the Writer’s Center. She is currently an MFA candidate in nonfiction and a graduate teaching assistant at the George Mason University.
Published in February 2025 by Stanchion Magazine, Ladies, Ladies, Ladies is King’s debut chapbook. This collection of flash fiction offers an intimate glimpse into the lives of 18 women. Though each lady is distinct in circumstance and temperament, there is a common theme running through these narratives. King’s protagonists are raw, messy, and vulnerable. This book is as affirming as it is pleasing to read, and serves as a comforting reminder for women to take up as much space as needed.
WU: What has your journey as a writer looked like? What moves and inspires you?
Like many writers, I started out as a reader. I loved stories from an early age and it was not infrequent for me to find excuses to skip school, chores, or dance class in favor of escaping into a fictional world. This eventually led to a concentration in English and French literature in college, which allowed me to deeply engage with literature and folklore on an academic level. However, this love of reading didn’t translate to a love of writing until my senior year, when I took a creative writing elective with the incredible Aimee Nezhukumatathil. As a child and teen, my creative outlet was ballet. I was a part of the Fokine Ballet Company until I was 17. What I loved about Aimee’s class was how much it reminded me of my time as a dancer—there was such playful energy to her teaching which, alongside a joyful discipline, allowed us to be genuinely curious about our creative passions and impulses and find our own unique flow across the page.
When we finished our class together that semester, Aimee asked her students to promise that we would always remain faithful to the creative voice inside of us. I took those words to heart and since then, I’ve continued to explore poetry, spoken word, fiction, and nonfiction writing and reading alongside a passion for teaching. I also started my own small organization called MoonLit in November 2017, working to bring words and people together with accessible, engaging literary events (including a semi-annual literary pub crawl with Barrelhouse Magazine, creative writing and wellness events, and Poetry Hikes through Rock Creek Park).
I am now onto the next chapter (pun absolutely intended!) of my literary journey, pursuing an MFA in nonfiction at George Mason University to strengthen my understanding of craft and pedagogy. While I am only in my first semester, I feel very excited by the three years of study ahead of me, and it has been a true gift to re-immerse myself in the experience of learning, experimenting, and growing alongside an extremely talented faculty and cohort.
WU: How does your teaching and yoga practice inform your work as an author?
Over the past few years, I’ve shifted from thinking of myself as a “writer” toward thinking of myself as a “creative,” that is, someone who gets deep pleasure, satisfaction, and fulfillment from creating whether what I’m creating is a piece of writing, a lesson plan or yoga sequence, an event, a sloppy doodle, a warm loaf of banana bread, or what have you. With this in mind, I think teaching (both writing and yoga!) provides countless opportunities to grow and stretch my imagination and discover new, interesting, and eclectic information. I also find movement to be a very effective motivator for creativity, unlocking a deep access to the body and mind.
I put equal stock in my creative work as a writer as I do my creative work as a teaching artist and I believe that to be a teacher is to be a lifelong student, a role I take very seriously. I think one of the many benefits of being a student—whether in yoga, the creative arts, or others—is the understanding that learning is a continual journey, rather than a destination. It is constant work to remain aligned and in tune with your intuition but remaining true to that work pays off both on and off the page and on and off the mat.
WU: The women in your short story collection Ladies, Ladies, Ladies are charming, complex, and full of desire. How did you find them, and what was your process for bringing them to life?
I consider myself primarily a nonfiction writer but during the pandemic, I found myself totally unable to read, write, or journal. I was frozen and numb, divorced from all the ways I knew how to engage with the world around me. Fortunately, that spring I took an online writing class with Kathy Fish which introduced me to the form of flash fiction. After weeks of stagnation, both the brevity and beauty of the form—as well as its stark originality—finally pulled me out of my creative rut. What I love as a reader of flash and micro fiction is the ways in which the form allows space for small details to breathe. It is these details that really grab hold of the reader, allowing them a way “in” to a character and their world.
Many of the ladies in the collection originated in that workshop in the spring of 2020 and as I continued to explore the form, it was through each individual narrative rather than a collective whole. But after some time—and with thanks in large part to the kind and consistent encouragement of Stanchion’s Founder Jeff Bogle—I realized that I had quite a few pieces that seemed to fit in a similar sphere: women captured and crystallized in a moment. And so I started to see what it would look like if I put their voices side by side and slowly but surely, Ladies, Ladies, Ladies came together.
WU: As a reader, I was struck by the emotional resonance in Ladies, Ladies, Ladies, considering that the women in them feel like living, breathing, characters. What do you most hope a reader walks away carrying or feeling?
I have always been drawn to stories that feature strong female-centric narratives and that aren’t shy of emotions like rage, lust, nor grief. To be human is to be messy. To be human is to be alive. To be human is to learn from and find beauty in that mess and to examine our own emotions, complexities, and nuances as a way of being fully present in the experience of being alive. This, I think, is the lesson—or mirror—of art. What I hope comes across to a reader of Ladies, Ladies, Ladies is how each woman in the collection is consciously, aggressively alive in her own life. I hope, too, that the stories inspire readers to live authentically and embrace their own emotions and mess.
WU: Can you give us a glimpse of your next writing project?
I am currently exploring a creative project called "The Wonder Walk,” researching the history of pilgrimages, the loneliness epidemic, and intersections between community, creativity, movement, and nature. As a part of this, I'm facilitating a number of events, including community “Wonder Walks” alongside one-on-one hikes through Rock Creek Park, public installations, and more, to think and talk about our collective and individual work in the world.
Essentially what I am doing with this project is listening—most often while walking alongside both strangers and friends on some of my favorite hiking trails. I’m currently writing a series of Substack posts and essays about the process and my hope is to eventually write a book as well. But my palms are open and I am a big believer that art and creation is just as much about the experience and process as it is about the product. If you’re interested in learning more, feel free to be in touch at thewonderwalks@gmail.com or kristenzoryking@gmail.com.
WU: What media are you currently consuming, and do you have any favorite writers in the DC area right now?
I’m in my first semester of graduate school so I am not consuming much of anything outside of old episodes of Murder She Wrote and my required semester texts! However, I recently picked up a copy of Tell Me Yours, I’ll Tell You Mine by Kristina Ten and truly cannot get enough of it. Her characters crawl under your skin and stay with you long after you’ve turned the page. In addition, I have an ever growing “to be read” pile that I can’t wait to dig into over winter break, including First Kicking, Then Not by Hannah Grieco and dwelling by Michaela Godding—both local writers. I also recently attended an incredible reading featuring Kristin W. Davis, Elizabeth Hazen, Shari Lawrence Pfleeger and Rose Solari and I am really looking forward to reading more from all four DMV-based poets.
Kristen Zory King is a writer based in Washington, DC. Recent work can be found in Electric Lit, The Citron Review, HAD, and SWWIM among others. In February 2025, her chapbook of flash fiction stories, Ladies, Ladies, Ladies was published by Stanchion. She is currently at work on a collection of nonfiction essays exploring nature, spirituality, and community among other projects. In addition to her work on the page, Kris is also a creative teaching artist, yoga and Pilates instructor, and graduate student at George Mason University. Learn more or be in touch at www.KristenZoryKing.com.
Samantha Segal is an Editorial Assistant for Washington Unbound and a recent graduate of Rutgers University.
