Kassandra Montag grew up in Kearney NE and by age seven knew she wanted to be a writer.  She attended University of Nebraska-Kearney and while there worked with Don Welch to self-publish two chapbooks of poetry. Montag now lives in Omaha with her husband and two sons.  She holds an MA in English Literature and Creative Writing from Creighton University and her award-winning poetry and short fiction has appeared in journals and theologies: Midwestern Gothic, Nebraska Poetry, Prairie Schooner, and Mystery Weekly Magazine. She has always been interested in nature and the Nebraska plains which is where Montag’s debut novel begins.

After the Flood. William Morrow 2019.
An epic saga of a future where the world has been transformed by flood.  It has been published in fourteen languages and optioned for television.
Review
“It is the best book of the year.” ~ Chicago Tribune Review. 2019.

Chorus of the Underground Sea. Wayne State College P 2021.
Review
“Across time and place the many voices collected in these vividly imagined and empathetic lyrics sing to us of loneliness and loss, love and survival. In ekphrastic and persona poems, whether in received or open forms, Montag recreates for us the best kind of history—intimate and unsentimental.” ~ Susan Aizenberg, author of Quiet City.

Those Who Return. Quercus 2022.
This closed-door murder thriller will have readers guessing until the very end. The inherent remoteness of the setting has limited the suspect pool, and no one wants to think the people they live with are capable of murder. The beautifully written descriptions of the setting honor the unique beauty and seclusion of the Sandhills, Nebraska.
Review
Darkly riveting and explosive, and with an unforgettable cast of deeply human characters, Those Who Return is a searing psychological thriller of guilt and redemption, set against a landscape as awe-inspiring as it is unforgiving. ~ Goodreads. 2022.

Ground Given: a Novella. Audible Original Stories 2021.
In 1974, a waitress in small-town Nebraska idly dreams of escaping her dead-end job and her boss, who controls every aspect of her life – until a handsome stranger comes to town and her luck begins to change.

Following is Montag’s reading of her poem “That Summer We Knew Each Other.”