Kate self-published her first series of fiction for young readers, The Julia Dagons Mysteries, when she was in grade five, using the photocopier at her mom’s work. Unfortunately, these works of literary genius are officially out of print.
A member of CANSCAIP and The Writer’s Union of Canada, Kate is also a graduate of the MA in Creative Writing program at the University of Toronto. She spends the majority of her time writing and reading stories for young readers. She also works with students of all ages, helping them to become confident readers and writers.
Her debut picture book, Beatrice and Barb, illustrated by Vivian Mineker, was published by Kids Can Press in 2023. Her second book, A Summer without Anna, illustrated by Risa Hugo, is available for preorder now, wherever you like to buy your books!
Kate lives with her partner Michael, their two children, and a wily bernedoodle named Leo in Kitchener, Ontario, on the traditional territory of the Neutral, Anishinaabe, and Haudenosaunee peoples.
FAQ
Q: What can you not write without:
A: A sharp Ticonderoga or Blackwing pencil, my laptop, dangerous amounts of very hot coffee, and my office doodle Leo.
Q: What are your favourite picture books?
A: There are too many to count, but these are a handful of stories that are on my mind right now:
Pepper and Me by Beatrice Alemanga
Paolo, Emperor of Rome by Mac Barnett and Claire Keane
The Skull by Jon Klassen
Noodles on a Bicycle by Kyo Maclear and Gracey Zhang
Farmhouse by Sophie Blackall
The Sour Cherry Tree by Naseem Hrab and Nahid Kazemi
Spider in the Well by Jess Hannigan
Do You Remember? by Sydney Smith
Red is Best by Kathy Stinson and Robin Baird Lewis
Swimmy by Leo Lionni
A Face is a Poem by Julie Morstad
Make Meatballs Sing by Mathew Burgess and Kara Kramer
Q: What are the best kinds of pie?
A: Chicken pot, tourtière, peach, raspberry, strawberry rhubarb, chocolate pudding, pumpkin, key lime. In that order.
Words to read and write by
“When there are enough books available to act as both mirrors and windows for all our children, they will see that we can celebrate both our differences and our similarities, because together they are what makes us all human.”
“Isn’t it important that children’s books contain the things that children think of and the things children do, even if those things seem strange?”
“I am a former child, and I haven’t forgotten a thing. ”
“Le Mieux est l’ennemi du bien (The perfect is the enemy of the good).”