Kate Davies
{{Infobox person
| image =
| caption =
| birth_date = {{birth date and age|df=y|1983|1|6}}
| birth_place =
| alma_mater = University of Oxford
| occupation =
| years_active = 2017–present
| website = {{url|https://katedavieswriter.com/}}
}}
Kate Davies (born 6 January 1983) is an English novelist, children's writer and editor. Her debut novel In the Deep End (2019) won the Polari Prize.
Early life
Davies is donor conceived.{{Cite web|url=https://www.vogue.co.uk/article/sperm-donor-family-viewpoint|title=I Found My Donor Family – Then I Had My Own|work=British Vogue|first=Kate|last=Davies|date=24 February 2024|accessdate=12 June 2025}} She grew up in north west London. She graduated from the University of Oxford.{{Cite web|url=https://www.thenovelry.com/team/kate-davies|title=Meet the Team: Kate Davies|work=The Novelry|accessdate=12 June 2025}}
Career
Davies began her career working as a children's book editor. She penned a middle-grade trilogy called The Crims, described by Amanda MacGregor of Teen Librarian Toolbox as "The Addams Family meets Despicable Me".{{Cite web|url=https://teenlibrariantoolbox.com/2018/05/17/post-it-note-reviews-of-elementary-and-middle-grade-books-8/|title=Post-it Note Reviews of Elementary and Middle Grade Books|work=Teen Librarian Toolbox|first=Amanda|last=MacGregor|date=17 May 2018|accessdate=12 June 2025}} The first installment was published in 2017 followed by Down with the Crims in 2018 and The Crims at Sea in 2019.{{Cite web|url=https://granitemedia.org/2019/10/the-year-we-fell-from-space/|title=Down with the Crims |work=Granite Media|first=Dana|last=Valencia|date=1 October 2019|accessdate=12 June 2025}}
Through a five-way audition in 2018, the Borough Press acquired the rights to publish Davies' debut adult novel In the Deep End in 2019.{{Cite web|url=https://www.thebookseller.com/rights/borough-scoops-davies-debut-following-five-way-auction-788841|title=Borough scoops editor's debut following five-way auction|work=The Bookseller|first=Heloise|last=Wood|date=2018|accessdate=3 February 2023}} The novel is inspired by Davies' own coming out experience in her 20s.{{Cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2019/mar/07/in-at-the-deep-end-by-kate-davies-review-a-sapphic-sexual-odyssey|title=In at the Deep End by Kate Davies review – a Sapphic sexual odyssey|work=The Guardian|first=Stephanie|last=Theobold|date=7 March 2019|accessdate=3 February 2023}} In the Deep End won the Polari Prize for Book of the Year and was shortlisted for the Bollinger Everyman Wodehouse Prize.
In the interim, Davies wrote the children's picture book The Incredible Hotel, illustrated by Isabelle Follath.{{Cite web|url=https://www.whisperingstories.com/the-incredible-hotel-kate-davies-book-review/|title=The Incredible Hotel by Kate Davies - Book Review|work=Whispering Stories|date=3 June 2020|accessdate=12 June 2025}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2020/jan/25/childrens-and-teens-roundup-the-best-new-picture-books-and-novels|title=Children's and teens roundup: the best new picture books and novels|work=The Guardian|first=Imogen|last=Russell Williams|date=25 January 2020|accessdate=12 June 2025}} The book was published in 2020 via Frances Lincoln Children's Books and had a sequel titled A Mystery at the Incredible Hotel in 2023.{{Cite web|url=https://twirlingbookprincess.com/2024/09/review-a-mystery-at-the-incredible-hotel/|title=Review: A Mystery at the Incredible Hote|work=Twirling Book Princess|author=Mehsi|date=3 September 2024|accessdate=12 June 2025}}
Davies reunited with the Borough Press for the publication Dif her second contemporary adult novel Nuclear Family in 2024.{{Cite web|url=https://www.thebookseller.com/rights/borough-press-acquires-hilarious-and-touching-second-novel-from-davies|title=Borough Press acquires 'hilarious and touching' second novel from Davies|work=The Bookseller|date=1 April 2022|accessdate=12 June 2025}} The novel is about twins who discover they were donor conceived, following how the two sisters react to the news.{{Cite web|url=https://inews.co.uk/culture/books/nuclear-family-kate-davies-review-2892491|title=Nuclear Family by Kate Davies is as gripping as any thriller|work=The i Paper|first=Marianne|last=Levy|date=16 February 2024|accessdate=12 June 2025}} Nuclear Family was named one of the best novels of 2024 by Johanna Thomas-Corr of The Sunday Times and a Good Housekeeping spring 2025 Good Books selection.{{Cite web|url=https://www.thetimes.com/culture/books/article/best-fiction-books-2024-tdzhd5x0n|title=The 18 best novels of 2024|work=The Sunday Times|first=Johanna|last=Thomas-Corr|date=29 November 2024|accessdate=12 June 2025}}
The Borough Press will also publish Davies' first historical novel Good Books for Bad Children about the children's publishing industry.{{Cite web|url=https://www.thebookseller.com/rights/katie-davies-writes-mad-men-inspired-love-letter-to-childrens-publishing-for-borough-press|title=Kate Davies writes 'Mad Men'-inspired love letter to children's publishing for Borough Press|work=The Bookseller|first=Heloise|last=Wood|date=15 February 2024|accessdate=12 June 2025}}
Personal life
Davies came out as a lesbian in her mid 20s.{{Cite web|url=https://ew.com/books/2019/07/01/kate-davies-in-at-the-deep-end/|title=Kate Davies' In at the Deep End tells the truth about coming out later in life|work=Entertainment Weekly|first=Kerena|last=Cadenas|date=1 July 2019|accessdate=3 February 2023}} She lives in East London with her wife and their son (born 2021).
Bibliography
=Novels=
- In the Deep End (2019)
- Nuclear Family (2024)
- Good Books for Bad Children (TBA)
=Children's books=
==''The Crims''==
- The Crims (2017)
- Down with the Crims (2018)
- The Crims at Sea (2019)
==''The Incredible Hotel''==
- The Incredible Hotel (2020)
- A Mystery at the Incredible Hotel (2023)
Accolades
| class="wikitable sortable
|+ !Year !Award !Category !Title !Result !{{Ref heading}} |
| 2019
| colspan="2" | Bollinger Everyman Wodehouse Prize | rowspan="2" | In the Deep End | {{sho}} |
| 2020
| Book of the Year | {{won}} |
References
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{{DEFAULTSORT:davies, kate}}
Category:Alumni of the University of Oxford
Category:English lesbian writers
Category:English women children's writers
Category:English women editors
Category:English women historical novelists
Category:English women novelists