Authorlink® chats with Karen Winn
Author
The Society
(Dutton, January 2026)
Interview by Craig Mewbourne
Authorlink: Your novel, THE SOCIETY unfolds in multiple timelines. When developing the story, how did you keep all the elements organized?
Winn: When I first started writing the book, I dragged a giant whiteboard into my office and mapped out the story lines of the two protagonists with a dry-erase marker. As you can imagine, it required a lot of consideration, and a lot of editing. At a certain point, I shifted back to my computer so I could see the manuscript in its entirety, which I always find helpful. From there, I continued shaping and refining the story on the actual page.
Authorlink: Three story arcs converge in the book. The Knox Society itself, becomes a first-person “character” embodied in the house in which the organization resides. What was your inspiration for that choice?
Winn: Both women protagonists are outsiders to the Knox, and as the story took shape, I realized I needed an insider’s perspective to the secret society—especially since its backstory influences the present day. Who better to provide that point of view than the building itself? After all, if walls could talk, especially those steeped in two centuries of secrets, imagine what stories they might tell…
Authorlink: Boston seems like a character too. Setting a novel in one’s own familiar a place as intimately neighborhood seems daunting. What challenges do you find in choosing the right amount of environmental detail to include?
Winn: I genuinely enjoy writing setting, and I had so much fun with it in this novel. Walking the Beacon Hill streets each day, I often felt as though I were living inside the pages of my own book! During revisions, I did have to pare down the level of detail, but I didn’t find that especially difficult. I may be an unusual writer in that I truly love the revision process.
Authorlink: One character faces an uphill battle to span the gulf between herself and high society by dressing the part, while another faces financial downfall and the prospect of remedying it with generational wealth. Both characters exhibit self doubt. What does their lack of confidence signify?
Winn: I wanted to home in on each woman’s vulnerabilities and really test them. I think stories become more compelling when characters face deeply personal challenges, and self-doubt heightens stakes. I also liked the parallel created by their shared vulnerabilities—the two characters are obviously very different, so this allows for a subtle connection between them.
Authorlink: Apart from one clearly evil antagonist, members of The Knox Society are ultimately portrayed as imperfect but not exactly bad. Other than Oliver and Rose, the only Society entity to have suffered consequences is the house itself. Society goes about business rarely noticing the suffering. Is this the message your novel convey
Winn: I do think it speaks to the entrenched nature of old generational wealth, particularly in Boston, how its tendrils have long reached into many facets of society. Allowing the Knox to continue is also a nod to the resoluteness and stoicism of New Englanders. More broadly, I think it reflects the enduring power of secret societies.
Authorlink: Every mother character is conspicuously absent, irresponsible, selfish and/or dead. Is maternal absence an intended theme of the novel?
Winn: I didn’t set out to make maternal absence a theme, but it naturally emerged, and once it did, it felt right to lean into it. I enjoyed crafting the different versions of Taylor’s “mother” that she uncovers: Vivian represents the idealized version, while the lost girls reflect a more complicated reality. For Vivian, being motherless, or nearly so, was essential to her story line. It also adds a necessary vulnerability, especially given how guarded she is with her emotions.
Authorlink: Do you have a daily writing routine?
Winn: When I’m knee-deep in a story, or on a deadline (whether real or self-imposed), then I do have a writing routine, where I wake up before the kids to write, then get them ready for school. After the bus drop-off, I walk the dog and then sit down again to write for as long as I can, before real life interrupts.
Authorlink: What upcoming projects do we have to look forward to?
Winn: My dystopian short story, “An (Updated) History of the Modern World,” just came out in the spring issues of Ploughshares. As for future novels, I recently finished writing a dark comedy with two author friends, and now I’m working on my next book, which centers on a minor character from The Society.
