Kate J. Armstrong is a former high school teacher and nonfiction book editor. Her internationally bestselling debut novel, NIGHTBIRDS, came out in 2023, and its sequel, FYREBIRDS, will come out in August 2024. She’s also the creator of The Exploress, a podcast about women in history. Originally from Virginia, she now calls Melbourne, Australia home.
Once upon a time, there was a girl who really liked telling stories. Whether it was a chapter book about a sassy pink dragon or an epic poem about her love for Batman, she was always writing something. Growing up in the bustle of northern Virginia, Kate was forever imagining herself into wilder and more magical worlds. After graduating college and NOT getting into grad school, she took some advice from two of her favorite teachers: she grabbed a backpack, bought a one-way plane ticket, and went off on an adventure. She’s never really looked back. She bummed around Europe, then wandered over to Australia, where she got a Masters degree in Journalism and started writing novels for real. She became a nonfiction book editor, working on travel guides and big, gorgeous coffee table books about everything from climbing Mount Everest to life in space to DIYing really nice confetti earrings. She also spent a few years as a high school English and creative writing teacher: best (and most challenging) job there is.
In 2018 she started The Exploress, a narrative podcast that goes time traveling through history to find out what life was like for women of the past. It regularly spends time on Apple Podcast’s Top 200 lists for history and educational shows in the USA, Australia, Europe, and beyond. Through it all, she never stopped writing novels: mostly Young Adult tales full of magic, history, romance, and a whole lot of drama. Her debut novel, NIGHTBIRDS, was published in 2023 to went on to become an international bestseller. Its sequel, FYREBIRDS, will follow in August 2024. When she’s not writing or in her recording booth, you will probably find her hiking mountains, baking brownies, hugging trees, finding excuses to dress up in historical attire, or reading way past her bedtime. She lives in Melbourne, Australia, with her husband.
