Kate Gordon is an Australian writer of

young adult fiction Young adult literature (YA) is typically written for readers aged 12 to 18 and includes most of the themes found in adult fiction, such as family dysfunction, substance abuse, alcoholism, and sexuality. It is characterized by simpler world build ...

Biography

Gordon was born in 1982 in

Tasmania Tasmania (; palawa kani: ''Lutruwita'') is an island States and territories of Australia, state of Australia. It is located to the south of the Mainland Australia, Australian mainland, and is separated from it by the Bass Strait. The sta ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

. Gordon has studied Performing Arts and Information Management at the

University of Tasmania The University of Tasmania (UTAS) is a public research university, primarily located in Tasmania, Australia. Founded in 1890, it is Australia's fourth oldest university. Christ College (University of Tasmania), Christ College, one of the unive ...

, and Literary Studies at

Deakin University Deakin University is a public university in Victoria, Australia. Founded in 1974 with antecedent history since 1887, the university was named after Alfred Deakin, the second Prime Minister of Australia and a founding father of Australian Fede ...

. Prior to writing, she has worked as a librarian and bookseller, specialising in children's and

young adult In medicine and the social sciences, a young adult is generally a person in the years following adolescence, sometimes with some overlap. Definitions and opinions on what qualifies as a young adult vary, with works such as Erik Erikson's stages ...

books. In 2010, her first novel was published by

Allen & Unwin George Allen & Unwin was a British publishing company formed in 1911 when Sir Stanley Unwin purchased a controlling interest in George Allen & Co. It became one of the leading publishers of the twentieth century and established an Australian ...

, entitled ''Three Things About Daisy Blue'', the twentieth and final novel in the Girlfriend Fiction series. In 2011, her second novel, ''Thyla'' was published by

Random House Australia Random House is an imprint and publishing group of Penguin Random House. Founded in 1927 by businessmen Bennett Cerf and Donald Klopfer as an imprint of Modern Library, it quickly overtook Modern Library as the parent imprint. Over the followi ...

. Unlike her first novel, ''Thyla'' is a paranormal fiction, set in

Hobart Hobart ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the island state of Tasmania, Australia. Located in Tasmania's south-east on the estuary of the River Derwent, it is the southernmost capital city in Australia. Despite containing nearly hal ...

and its surroundings. It was inspired by a visit to the

Cascades Female Factory The Cascades Female Factory, a former Australia, Australian Female Factory, workhouse for female Convicts in Australia#Van Diemen's Land (Tasmania), convicts in the penal colony of Van Diemen's Land, is located in Hobart, Tasmania. Operational ...

historical site, and also a story written for her by her father about a

thylacine The thylacine (; binomial name ''Thylacinus cynocephalus''), also commonly known as the Tasmanian tiger or Tasmanian wolf, was a carnivorous marsupial that was native to the Mainland Australia, Australian mainland and the islands of Tasmani ...

named Tessa. The sequel to ''Thyla'', entitled ''Vulpi'', was released in April 2012. Her 2020 book, ''Aster's Good, Right Things'', won the 2021 Children's Book of the Year Award: Younger Readers.

Bibliography

Novels

* * * * * * * * * *''The Heartsong of Wonder Quinn''. UQP. 2020. . *''Aster's Good, Right Things''. Yellow Brick Books. 2020. . *''The Ballad of Melodie Rose''. UQP. 2021. . *''Juno Jones, Rival Reader''. Yellow Brick Books. 2021. . *'' Xavier in the Meantime''. Yellow Brick Books. 2022. .

Picture books

* *

Anthologies

* *

Critical studies and reviews

References

External links

Official siteRhiza Edge author page
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gordon, Kate 1982 births Australian children's writers Living people Writers from Tasmania Australian women children's writers Australian women novelists