She received her Ph.D in Literature for Children and Young Adults at The Ohio State University and has taught courses in composition, children’s literature, adolescent literature, and ELA methods. She has published works mostly on multicultural comics and young adult literature which have appeared or are forthcoming in The ALAN Review, English Journal, and Red Feather Journal as well as the edited collection Graphic Novels for Children and Young Adults. Prior to graduate school, Karly taught high school English for four years.