about Kate

Kate Hart is the author of young adult novel AFTER THE FALL (Farrar, Straus & Giroux 2017), chosen by the Arkansas Center for the Book as a 2017 Arkansas Gem. She has also contributed to many anthologies, including LEGENDARY FRY BREAD DRIVE-IN (Heartdrum 2025), winner of the 2026 Michael L. Printz Award for Excellence in Young Adult Literature, the Odyssey Honor Award for Excellence in Audiobook Production, & the American Indian Youth Literature Award for Best Young Adult Book; NEVER WHISTLE AT NIGHT (Penguin RandomHouse 2024), a national bestseller nominated for the Shirley Jackson award, the Bram Stoker award, and the Locus award; and young adult collections OUT NOW (Inkyard 2020), BODY TALK (Algonquin 2020), TOIL AND TROUBLE (Harlequin Teen 2018), and HOPE NATION (Philomel 2018).

Before becoming a writer, Kate earned degrees in Spanish and history at Hendrix College, taught preschool and middle school, and wrote grants for a local nonprofit. She helped run YA Highway, a three-time pick for Writer's Digest's "101 Best Websites for Writers,” and has appeared at conferences and festivals across the country, including YALLWEST, Imanoli Writing Conference, North Texas Teen Book Fair, Arkansas Association of Instructional Media, Chicago Young Adult Book Festival, and the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute.

Born in Oklahoma and raised in Arkansas, Kate is a citizen of the Chickasaw Nation with Choctaw heritage and an alumnus member of the Tulsa chapter of Matriarch. She lives with her family on a mountainside outside of Fayetteville, where she enjoys hiking, tending a large garden, and playing with dog Norbert and cat Pippin. She also co-owns Natural State Treehouses and sells beadwork and fiber arts as Kate Hart Studio. Her literary work is represented by Alexandra Levick at Writers House.