KATE FORSYTH
Kate Forsyth's books have been published in Australia, the US, Canada, the UK, Germany, Russia, Italy and Japan. She has a BA in Literature and a MA in Writing, and has taught creative writing from primary to tertiary levels for over ten years. She is regularly invited to appear at festivals and conferences around Australia, including at the Sydney, Melbourne, Perth and Brisbane Writers Festivals.

Her most recent books are a series of six historical adventure novels for upper primary students, set in the last days of Cromwell. The books - The Gypsy Crown, The Silver Horse, The Herb of Grace, The Cat's Eye Shell, The Lightning Bolt, and The Butterfly in Amber - follow the adventures of two gypsy children, Luka and Emilia, as they seek to bring together six magical charms that they hope will help save their families.  Accompanied by a fleet-footed Arab mare, a naughty little monkey, a faithful mongrel dog and a grumpy old dancing bear, they encounter smugglers, witches, highwaymen, Royalist spies, and fanatical Puritan zealots, and ultimately triumph because of their own courage and cleverness.

 
Kate has also written two books for lower primary, called Dragon Gold and Wishing For Trouble, and has a picture book, I Am, scheduled for release in 2007. Her fantasy novel for young adults, The Starthorn Tree, was shortlisted for the Aurealis Award, the Western Australian Children's Choice Awards and the One Book, One City campaign in Brisbane.

 
Kate is also a well-known fantasy writer for adults. Several have been short-listed for the Aurealis Award for Excellence in Speculative Fiction, while her first book, Dragonclaw, was also named as one of the Best First Novels of 1998 by Locus. In the US, her most recently released book, The Tower of Ravens, reached No 11 on the Barnes and Noble fantasy bestsellers list, and No 23 on the national Booktrack list. It was given an almost unprecedented five blue ribbons by the Romance Junkies website.

She has also written a contemporary literary novel Full Fathom Five, published under her maiden name, Kate Humphrey, and a collection of poetry called Radiance. She also mentors for the ASA and the NSW Writers' Centre, and regularly writes articles for publications such as Spectrum, The Age, Good Reading, and Sunday Life.

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