Ken Kuhlken was born and grew up in San Diego, played semi-pro baseball in Tijuana, and attended San Diego State University, first as a philosophy and then as an English major.
After college, he wrote, played guitar and sang in a rock and blues band, and taught high school, before relocating to attend the University of Iowa Writers’ Workshop.
During the 1980s, his fascination with novels of crime, punishment, and redemption, led him to conceive of the Hickey family series, which he continues to write.
He has also been a frequent contributor of fiction and feature articles and a columnist for the San Diego Reader.
With his wife Pam, he founded Perelandra College, which he serves as president and chair of Creative Writing.