Kate will be taking part in the Schools Programme but will also be running a stall at the Book & Craft Fair. Her books are for older children and young adults and she also runs workshops.
About the author
Kate Darbishire is a children’s and YA author. She studied Creative Writing and Education at Bath Spa University and spent many years working in special schools before turning her attention to writing for young people.
Her novel Speechless was inspired by a simple question: where were the books that showed children like her own daughter, who has cerebral palsy? The result was a story about Harriet, a secondary school girl who uses a wheelchair and communicates without speech, but whose life, friendships, frustrations and ambitions are far bigger than her disability.
Speechless is now used in primary and secondary schools across the country and has been translated for publication in South Korea and Turkey. Kate continues to write for young people and is currently working on a memoir. She also works as an editor and book coach.
She is particularly interested in the way stories can challenge assumptions, build empathy and allow readers to see the world from perspectives different from their own.
About Kate’s books – ‘Speechless’ and ‘It was Never about Rose’:
SPEECHLESS
Now enjoyed by thousands of young readers! Speechless is being used in schools across the UK to encourage conversations about inclusion and diversity. She can’t walk. She can’t even talk. But she has so much to tell you…
Eleven-year-old Harriet has Cerebral Palsy. At her new Secondary School, she is bullied and ridiculed every day and she doesn’t know how to make friends.
Charlotte tries – but how do you talk to someone who won’t talk back?
When Harriet’s mum is rushed into hospital, her Grandmother, Gloria has far more important things to worry about than Harriet. Like whether her nail polish matches her outfit.
Jake, Harriet’s brother, starts skipping school and acting weird. Harriet can see he’s in danger but what can she do?
Harriet is plucky and resilient but is she brave enough to face up to her challenges?
IT WAS NEVER ABOUT ROSE
The powerful story of how neurodiverse people were SILENCED in Victorian society. From the bestselling author of SPEECHLESS.
When three Victorian children play in the countess’s rose garden, they share a moment of innocent fun – which ends in heartbreak and shame.
Sophia, the valet’s daughter, is sent below stairs and her life as a servant begins.
Golden boy Lewis is packed off to boarding school.
But Ada, granddaughter to the countess, is banished to the attics, away from all society.
Questions about her abound…
Why is she always yelling? Has she lost her mind? Must she suffer such cruelty?
Is she possessed?
Suddenly, six years after the rose garden incident, she keeps escaping from the attics. Is she in search of Sophia?
It Was Never About the Rose explores the transformative power of empathy and friendship.
