Join us in celebrating the launch of Ute Carson’s new novella, Save the Last Kiss.

In Save the Last Kiss, reminiscences of first love are woven through letters from Sophia, a German journalist now living in Spain, as she writes to her dying friend, Klaus. Sophia recalls the emotional experiences they shared as they came of age, and recounts how she wrestled with the discovery that Klaus was in a serious relationship with someone else while courting her. As Sophia writes, she learns that clinging to a romantic attachment from the past risks crippling her capacity to love in the present.

A writer from youth, German-born Ute Carson’s first story was published in 1977. Her story “The Fall” won the Grand Prize for prose and was published in the short story and poetry anthology A Walk through My Garden (Outrider Press, Chicago 2007). Her novel Colt Tailing was published in 2004 and was a finalist for the Peter Taylor Book Award Prize for the novel. Her second novel, In Transit, was published in 2008. Her poems have appeared in numerous journals and magazines here and abroad. Carson’s poetry was featured on the televised Spoken Word Showcase 2009, 2010, and 2011 Channel Austin, Texas. Her poetry collection Just a Few Feathers was published in 2011. Her poem “A Tangled Nest of Moments” won second place in the Eleventh International Poetry Competition 2012. Her chapbook Folding Washing was published in 2013 and her collection of poems My Gift to Life in 2014. My Gift to Life was nominated for the Pushcart 2015 Award Prize. Her novella Save the Last Kiss was published in 2016. An advanced clinical hypnotist, Ute Carson resides in Austin, Texas with her husband. They have three daughters, six grandchildren, a horse and a number of cats.