Katherine Howell worked as a paramedic for fifteen years while completing her Bachelor and Masters degrees in creative writing. Her first novel, Frantic, was published in 2007 by Pan Macmillan and set a paramedic alongside Sydney police detective Ella Marconi in 'an adrenaline rush of a thriller' (Sydney Morning Herald). It won the 2008 Davitt award for best crime fiction. Her second book, The Darkest Hour, continued the pattern with Ella and another paramedic in 'a finely paced and engrossing novel' (Guardian UK). The third in the series, Cold Justice, made the Australian bestseller list, saw Katherine travelling on a P&O cruise as guest author, and was described by NYT bestselling author Tess Gerritsen as 'one of my favourite books of the year'. It also won the 2011 Davitt award for best crime fiction, making Katherine the only author to have won twice. Her fourth book, Violent Exposure, was described by Bookseller & Publisher as 'arguably her best yet - four stars', while the fifth, Silent Fear, was chosen as a 'Guaranteed Book You Can't Put Down' by the national Get Reading! programme.
Katherine's books are published in multiple countries and languages and have been likened to the work of Karin Slaughter and Patricia Cornwell. Katherine is studying female doctor investigators in crime fiction for her PhD at the University of Queensland, and teaches writing and editing. She lives in Queensland with her partner, who owns a bookshop.
Katherine is an experienced speaker. While a paramedic she taught first aid and CPR, and as an author she is a frequent speaker at libraries, bookclubs, community groups and writers festivals, including senior school student groups at Somerset. One aspect of her talks is her journey from paramedic to author, including the difficulties involved in making that change and in learning to use her often traumatic experiences as the stuff of good fiction. Another is the importance of persistence as a key quality for anyone who wants to be a successful writer.
Katherine is published by Pan Macmillan.
Testimonials
Zillmere Library had a good turnout for the Katherine Howell event. Katherine spoke really well and the audience really enjoyed the presentation. They had lots of questions for Katherine which she willingly answered, and she was happy to stay a little while after the talk to mingle with anyone who wanted to chat with her.
Overall it was a great event, and we would definitely recommend Katherine Howell for future author talks.
Katherine Howell - Zillmere Library, June, 2013Katherine was an entertaining speaker and our students enjoyed her presentation and workshop. I would recommend her and Speakers Ink, as both were professional, friendly, and excellent for our school.
Katherine Howell - Proserpine State High School, November, 2013.Katherine was great - was very interesting and well-spoken and answered plenty of questions. I would definitely book her again - would probably try and get Katherine to talk at one of our other libraries - and would have no hesitation in recommending her to other organisations.
Katherine Howell - Casino Library, NSW, October, 2013.Zillmere Library had a good turnout for the Katherine Howell event. Katherine spoke really well and the audience really enjoyed the presentation. They had lots of questions for Katherine which she willingly answered, and she was happy to stay a little while after the talk to mingle with anyone who wanted to chat with her.
Overall it was a great event, and we would definitely recommend Katherine Howell for future author talks.
Katherine Howell - Zillmere Library, June, 2013My students were particularly impressed with this aspect of her discussion and were able to see how it could be applied to a range of writing tasks.
Katherine Howell has visited Hornsby Girls High School twice to speak about Crime Writing. On both occasions, she has made a very important contribution to the students’ preparation for their HSC exams. She makes a strong impression on her listeners and presents very pertinent examples of her own work to underline the points she is making about writing within that genre. However, her approach to editing a piece of writing is also a very practical demonstration of the improvement that a few thoughtful and relatively simple changes can make to a written text.
Katherine Howell - September, 2009
Violent Exposure
Cold Justice
The Darkest Hour
Frantic
Silent Fear
Web Of Deceit
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To tie in with the 2025 Book Week theme, ‘Book an Adventure’, Dave Lowe has adapted his popular ‘Choose Your Own Adventure’ workshop, as a ‘presentation’-style 45- / 60-minute session for large groups of students, from Years 3 to 8. In this fun, highly-interactive session, Dave will share insights into ideas-generation and plotting, and give each student a story template, as well as all the tips and tricks they’ll need to make their own short ‘Choose Your Own Adventure’-style book that they can take home and try out on friends and family.
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What people are saying
I am highly recommending you to anyone who will listen. Everyone has had nothing but positive comments to make about your visit, staff and students alike. Cristy was an amazing presenter. It is rare that we have an incursion and children of all ages are equally engaged. She was hilarious, informative and vibrant. The students couldn't get enough, and were talking about it for the rest of the day. I would recommend her to any school.
Astred Hicks has recently delivered a guest lecture to a group of students in the Master of Publishing program, for the second year in the row. Her expertise, passion, and ability to engage and inspire the students were truly remarkable. Her love for books and design was contagious, which created a positive and inspiring atmosphere in the classroom. Astred encouraged students to embrace creativity, think outside the box, and push the boundaries of traditional book cover design and illustration. [...]
James was a huge hit with our students and his sessions sold out - up to 800 students in our biggest venue. He had the kids enthralled and was such a pleasure to work with too. He is very easy going and positive.
“We thoroughly enjoyed the workshop! Tiff’s use of props and visuals to connect with the themes in her beautiful book was very engaging and stimulating for our students. The students and I loved learning about Wonder Earth with Tiff”
Book Week 2012 was a great success here at St Augustine's. Kim Toft was wonderful again!!! Thank you Helen once again for helping me with great author choices.
David Hallett challenged many of our students' personal views of poetry and politics. His performances allowed students to appreciate the malleability of poetry, highlighting the fact it is far more than words on a page.
Thank you for recommending Kyle for this year’s Literature Festival Day. It was a huge success and we have had wonderful feedback from students and teachers.
Tony's personal connection to the specific audience is an absolute talent. By listening to the specific questions asked by different year levels the groups each had a very different and unique presentation. His ability to draw and make connections to his works is pure talent.
We will book through Speakers Ink again as we have for many years now, you are the best company to book through in my opinion. We look forward to booking through you again for next year.
Pip was Fantastic. She easily adapted to the different groups. Children were really comfortable with her.
Brett Lee was very professional and did a great job presenting. The audience got a lot out of the presentation and have also requested for Brett Lee to present to the students.