Narratively

Shawna Kenney

Shawna Kenney is the author of “I Was a Teenage Dominatrix” (Last Gasp) and co-author of Live at the Safari Club: A History of Hardcore Punk in the Nation's Capital (Rare Bird Books). Her work has appeared in The New York Times, Playboy, Creative Nonfiction, Vice, and more.

Stories By Shawna Kenney

Punk Rock Freaks in the Heart of Hollywood

It was the era when video killed the radio star, when glitz and glamor and bubblegum pop dominated the airwaves. Meanwhile, a handful of musicians and misfits were subverting the pop culture narrative forever.

No Sex in the Bunkbeds! Tales from the Most Intimate Sharing Economy Startup Yet

Privacy is rare, quiet hours are sacred, and don’t even think about hooking up. Meet the grown-ups who call the glorified dormitories of PodShare home.

I Was a Black Nazi Skinhead

When I went to prison I was black. By the time I got out 11 years later I was crazy, fascist and white.

How the Fiercest Warrior in “Wonder Woman” Kicked Her Way Into Hollywood

This Swedish kickboxing champion devoted her life to the sport. When a terrifying health scare knocked her out, she found a surprising second act on the big screen.

What It’s Really Like When a Prison ‘Lifer’ Gets a New Shot at Life

Ricardo Sapienza served 25 years for a crime he swears he didn’t commit. But his hardest challenge began the day the parole board finally said “yes.”

Happily Ever Afterbirth

Meet a former massage therapist who found her true calling turning postpartum placentas into tinctures, pills and the most intimate of keepsakes.

The Home for Hollywood Dreamers and Dropouts

From hypodermic needles to hallway ghosts, plus-size models to rockstar hopefuls, every room and resident in one Tinseltown tenement is almost famous.