About

Born in Ohio, K.M. Hanslik has been influenced by the rolling hills and expansive landscapes of both her home state as well as places such as Oregon and West Virginia. In her works, often exploring natural scenery, landscape is examined the way one might examine a body: full of interdependent systems striving for health and vitality and opposed by external forces. Using natural imagery as metaphor for life’s events, K.M. incorporates themes of naturalism, philosophy and psychology to blend existential and scientific forms of thought in her writing.

K.M.’s works have appeared in journals such as Bleating Thing Magazine, 3Elements Review, Dishsoap Quarterly, Corvid Queen, and Black Glass Pages. Her poem “sanctimonious” (originally appearing in Bleating Thing Magazine) is set to be released in the March 2026 Monarch Queer Literary Awards anthology. Her first piece to appear in an online publication, “how to un-cook soup,” was nominated for Best of the Net in 2024.

K.M.’s studies in psychology and creative writing at Kent State University (2017-2021) have influenced her work, and she owes a debt of gratitude to many influential teachers she met from all areas of discipline there, including geology, psychology, history, English, and philosophy. In addition to writing, K.M. previously served as an editor and designer for Tornado Alley, and currently works as an editor for The Turning Leaf Journal. K.M. dabbles in art, majorly naturalistic sketching and abstract painting.

In her spare time, K.M. enjoys hiking and exploring new places. She is particularly drawn towards vast horizons, mountain ranges, and moving bodies of water. She uses all manner of natural objects as a source of inspiration, from the smallest insects and feathers to the vastness of the night sky. She believes in holding the mystical, the intuitive, the spiritual in one hand and the empirical, the logical, the absolute in the other.