Kate Davies
The Polari Prize-winning author of In at the Deep End and Nuclear Family, one of The Times' books of the year. Kate writes contemporary fiction and children’s fiction.
Kate Davies is an award-winning novelist, screenwriter, and author. Her first book, In at the Deep End, won the Polari Prize, and her second novel, Nuclear Family, was a book of the year for The Times. She is known for her funny, frank contemporary fiction, propulsive plots, and witty dialogue, and her writing has won praise from authors including Sarah Waters (‘Davies writes with a glorious sureness of touch and impeccable comic timing’), Emma Jane Unsworth (‘Brazen and hilarious’), and Erin Kelly (‘I can’t think of another author who can make me ricochet so fast from painful empathy to helpless laughter’).
In at the Deep End sold at auction to The Borough Press in the U.K. and to Houghton Mifflin Harcourt in the U.S. in a six-figure deal. It won the Polari Prize, was shortlisted for the Bollinger Everyman Wodehouse Prize for Comic Fiction, and was named a book of the year by Red magazine, and one of the best queer books of the year by Autostraddle and O, the Oprah Magazine. It was serialized for BBC Sounds and optioned for television. Her second novel, Nuclear Family, was published in 2024 to wide acclaim. It was named a Book of the Year by The Times, Good Housekeeping, and Prima, and one of the funniest books of 2024 by the i paper. She is currently working on her third novel, Good Books for Bad Children—her first historical novel, set in mid-century New York during the golden age of children’s publishing—which sold to The Borough Press on proposal.
Kate’s books for children include the picture books The Incredible Hotel and A Mystery at the Incredible Hotel (Frances Lincoln Children’s Books) and the comedy middle-grade series The Crims (HarperCollins Children’s Books). She has also written dozens of non-fiction children’s books, including Illumanatomy (Wide Eyed Editions), Fairy Tale Land (Frances Lincoln Children’s Books), and See Under the Sea (Usborne Publishing).
After graduating from Oxford University, Kate worked as a children’s book editor for 12 years across fiction, non-fiction, and picture books. She started as an editor and in-house writer at Usborne Publishing, then moved to Scholastic Children’s Books and Walker Books, ending her editorial career as Commissioning Editor at Frances Lincoln and Wide Eyed Editions. Kate commissioned and edited fiction by authors including John Boyne, Tracy Chevalier, and A. L. Kennedy, and worked with some of the world’s leading illustrators, including Jan Pienkowski, Laura Carlin, and Jim Kay.
For screen, Kate has written for the Cartoon Network comedies The Amazing World of Gumball and The Heroic Quest of the Valiant Prince Ivandoe, and has developed original TV ideas with Working Title and Bright Star. She is currently working on a BFI-funded script commission to adapt Sarah Schulman’s cult novel After Delores into a feature screenplay.
Kate’s journalism has appeared in the Guardian, Vogue, Marie Claire, and Stylist. She was awarded a Hawthornden Fellowship to work on Nuclear Family, and has judged the London Writers’ Awards.
Kate lives in London with her wife and son. When she isn’t writing novels, she writes lyrics for musicals, improvises full-length musicals with her improv team, Lost the Plot, and does quite a lot of Yoga with Adriene.
Kate’s Genres
- Romance
- Contemporary Fiction
- Book Club Fiction
- Literary Fiction
Please note: all genuine emails from Kate Davies will come from @thenovelry.com.
In at the Deep End
Julia has had enough. Enough of the sex noises her roommate makes. Enough of her dead-end government job. Enough of the one-night stand who accused her of breaking his penis. The only thing she hasn’t had enough of is orgasms; she hasn’t had proper sex in three years.
So when Julia gets invited to a warehouse party in a part of town where trendy people who have lots of sex go on a Friday night, she readily accepts. And that night she meets someone: a figurative artist who also happens to be a woman.
Julia’s sexual awakening begins; her new lesbian life is exhilarating. She finds her tribe at queer swing-dancing classes, and guided by her new lover Sam, she soon discovers London’s gay bars and BDSM clubs—and the complexities of polyamory. But soon it becomes clear that Sam needs to call the shots, and Julia’s newfound liberation comes to bear a suspicious resemblance to entrapment...
In at the Deep End is an unforgettable and audacious odyssey through the pitfalls and seductions we encounter on the treacherous path to love and self.
Nuclear Family
When Lena buys DNA testing kits for her father Tom and her twin sister Alison, she thinks they’ll enjoy finding out where their ancestors come from, and what percentage Neanderthal they are. She has no idea the gift will blow her family apart.
Tom is forced to admit that he isn’t his daughters’ biological father and that he and his late wife, Sheila, used a sperm donor. He’s terrified Lena and Alison will reject him and is desperate to win back their trust—whatever it takes.
Alison thinks DNA doesn’t matter. She and her wife are trying to start a family using donor sperm, too. To her, Tom is their dad, and that’s that. But Lena becomes obsessed with tracking down their biological father. And when she discovers she has a half-brother—an actor with a blue tick on Instagram—she becomes obsessed with him, too...
A Mystery at the Incredible Hotel
In this follow-up to The Incredible Hotel, a crime disrupts the prestigious baking competition taking place at the hotel. But will detective Matilda be able to solve the case?
The World Baking Competition is coming up. It is taking place at the Incredible Hotel and will be judged by guest of honor, Chef Tartine. Stefan has perfected his chocolate cake recipe, but on the morning of the event... The recipe is nowhere to be found! Luckily, the best detective in Delaunay is on hand—Stefan’s best friend, Matilda.
Who could the thief be?! Everyone has their theory, and Mr. Starch, the hotel manager, is ready to point the finger at a baking saboteur...
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