Kate Worsley is an internationally published award-winning novelist and an experienced writing mentor and teacher, working mainly with writers of long-form fiction and non-fiction.
She holds a BA in English Literature from UCL, an MA in Creative Writing (Novels) from City St George’s, University of London, where she later worked as visiting lecturer in creative writing, and has been a Royal Literary Fund Fellow since 2014. She holds an Introductory Postgraduate Certificate in Academic Practice, is an associate fellow of Advance HE and a member of the National Association of Writers in Education.
A long-standing mentor for the National Centre for Writing on its Escalator and Aspire programmes, Kate also edits and mentors privately.
Having started out editing and writing for queer zines in the 1980s, Kate was previously an editor and feature writer for national newspapers and magazines. She also published a non-fiction book Personal Space (Conran Octopus 2000).
Her debut novel She Rises (Bloomsbury 2013) won the New Angles Prize for Literature, the Historical Writers Association Debut Crown for New Historical Fiction and was a Lambda Literary Award finalist in the US. Her latest novel Foxash (Tinder Press, Headline 2023) won the East Anglian Award for Fiction 2023. You can find out more about her here.
‘Worsley does just what a great historical novelist should do: she inhabits her characters without strain, without fuss, but with obvious assurance, making them and their period feel utterly close and convincing. I can’t wait to see more of her fiction’ Sarah Waters
Kate says: ‘I’m more than happy to work across all genres. My areas of literary expertise include historical and LGBTQ+ fiction, autofic and memoir, and how to handle research, structure and setting. I’ve also worked extensively with writers who are dealing with long-standing health issues, caring responsibilities and confidence issues. Whatever your background and level of expertise, I aim to help you work out what it is you want to write, and how to write it as well as possible.’
Testimonials
‘Kate has taught me to be brave, to write, outside, under and through the lines.’ Paul Woodgate
‘Kate has given me some real pointers and solid ideas about how to go forward, as honestly I was feeling a bit stuck, knowing it was not there but not knowing how to change.’ Sara Booth
‘Kate is a very insightful writer who posed significant questions about the work I sent to her but did not seek to impose her own ideas about how the work should develop. Instead, through identifying specific points about inconsistency or writing that did not really work, she challenged me to examine my thinking. Working with Kate helped me to clarify what I want to write about. My work was treated with respect. I am intensely grateful that she saw value in my work, and this has given me the confidence to see myself as someone who can write.’ Julia Deery
‘Let me begin by saying how much I have valued Kate’s insight and feedback. She has an easy way about her in her explanations that have helped me enormously, not only in helping me improve and polish what I have written but also in helping me believe more in myself.’ Nigel Tuck
‘I worked with Kate over eight months and received help and support for my memoir. Her style is friendly and enthusiastic, and our sessions left me feeling positive and motivated. I highly recommend her coach/mentor style.’ Ali Hendry
Vitali Vitaliev