Katherine Dunn is a Portland novelist and journalist. In May, One Ring Circus: Dispatches From the World of Boxing, an anthology of Dunn’s essays about boxing was published. Her essays, written while she was a boxing correspondent for the Associated Press, cover the sport in all its forms and at its many levels. Ranging from portraits of legendary fighters such as Sugar Ray Leonard, Roberto Duran, Marvin Hagler, and Mike Tyson to the unsung stories of trainers, amateurs, promoters, cutmen, and a pair of pugilistic priests, Dunn uses her characteristic vernacular to elevate the sport and communicate its beauty, passion, and character.

Dunn's novel Geek Love, tells the unforgettable story of a traveling side show family and was a finalist for the National Book Award in 1989. She also wrote the novels Attic (1970) and Truck (1971) and is currently at work on a new book.

Born in Kansas City in 1945, Dunn went to high school in Tigard, Oregon, and later attended Reed College in Portland. Following her time at Reed, Ms. Dunn spent several years in Europe traveling. In addition to writing novels, she has had varied careers as a journalist, house painter, bartender, teacher, radio personality, and writer of an advice column.