Kate Mildenhall

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Kate Mildenhall
Born
Melbourne, Australia
NationalityAustralian
Occupation(s)Writer, Podcaster, Teacher
Notable workSkylarking
Children2
Websitehttps://katemildenhall.com/

Kate Mildenhall is an Australian author, best known for her 2016 debut novel Skylarking.[1]

Personal life[edit]

Mildenhall was born in Melbourne, Australia and lived in what is described as the 'green fringe' of Melbourne. She attended Eltham High School.[2] Growing up Mildenhall wanted to be "An Oscar winning film director".[2]

Mildenhall had spent a lot of time during her teenage years camping on an isolated cape, at Point Hicks, and had even stayed in the lighthouse there.

Mildenhall currently co-hosts the First Time podcast[3] with her friend and writer Katherine Collette. Mildenhall describes the podcast as "part reality show, part writers’ master class".

Mildenhall is married with two daughters.

Writing career[edit]

Her debut novel, Skylarking, was published in Australia by Black Inc. in 2016 and in the UK by Legend Press in 2017.[4] Skylarking was longlisted for the Voss Literary Prize (2017) and the Indie Book Awards (2017).[5] She described the process of pitching Skylarking to the Sunday Age in 2016: she had approached a speaker at the Emerging Writers Festival, then "mumbled a terrible pitch, but left with an invitation to send her my first 10,000 words. The rest is a blur, but ended in a contract with Black Inc".[6]

The novel centers around two best friends who are growing up together on an isolated Australian cape in the 1880s.[7]

The Courier-Mail, referring to the true story on which Skylarking is based, wrote "it's testament to Kate Mildenhall’s skill that you become so immersed in the lives of best friends Kate and Harriet you feel the dread, but hope it will not be so.[8] The Sydney Morning Herald review noted "Skylarking seems a rather jaunty title for a story about (unrequited) love and loss, but before we arrive at the unexpectedly tragic swerve in the narrative there's a lot of joy in Kate Mildenhall's debut".[9]

Annie Condon from Readings Monthly said of the book: "It is hard to believe that Skylarking is Kate Mildenhall's debut novel, as her ability to create both character and atmosphere is impressive".[10] Author Clare Wright described Skylarking as "historical fiction at its evocative best, while author Hannah Kent wrote that it was one of her favourite books of 2016, and stated that she hoped Mildenhall would continue to write, as she had "an abundance of talent".[11][12]

Her second novel, The Mother Fault, was published by Simon & Schuster in September 2020.[13] It was shortlisted for the 2020 Aurealis Award for best science fiction novel.[14] Her third novel, The Humming Bird Effect, was published in August 2023.[15] It was longlisted for the 2024 Stella Prize.[16]

Mildenhall was shortlisted for the 2023 Blake-Beckett Trust Scholarship awarded by the Australian Society of Authors.[17]

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Kate Mildenhall". Brisbane Writers Festival. Retrieved 9 October 2018.
  2. ^ a b "Kate Mildenhall on Skylarking: I sobbed writing the end of this book. - The Booktopian". The Booktopian. 4 July 2016. Retrieved 14 September 2018.
  3. ^ "Literary adventures". IRMA GOLD. Retrieved 14 September 2018.
  4. ^ Mildenhall, Kate (2016). Skylarking. Carlton VIC: Black Inc. ISBN 9781863958301.
  5. ^ On, Thuy (29 July 2016). "Skylarking review: Kate Mildenhall's historical novel of girls' friendship". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 14 September 2018.
  6. ^ "Secrets of our success". Sunday Age. 14 August 2016.
  7. ^ "Skylarking, a novel inspired by tragedy". ABC Radio National. 2 October 2016. Retrieved 9 October 2018.
  8. ^ "Skylarking". The Courier-Mail. 22 October 2016.
  9. ^ "Skylarking review: Kate Mildenhall's historical novel of girls' friendship". 29 July 2016. Sydney Morning Herald. 29 July 2016. Retrieved 9 October 2018.
  10. ^ "Skylarking by Kate Mildenhall". www.readings.com.au. Retrieved 14 September 2018.
  11. ^ "The ones we have loved". The Canberra Times. 9 December 2017.
  12. ^ "The best Australian books of 2016: writers choose their favourites". The Guardian. 17 December 2016.
  13. ^ Mildenhall, Kate (2 September 2020). The Mother Fault. ISBN 978-1-76085-447-8.
  14. ^ "Aurealis Awards 2020 finalists announced". Books+Publishing. 6 April 2021. Retrieved 7 April 2021.
  15. ^ Steger, Jason (31 July 2023). "The 12 best books to read in August". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 1 August 2023.
  16. ^ "Stella Prize 2024 longlist announced". Books+Publishing. 4 March 2024. Retrieved 5 March 2024.
  17. ^ "Blake-Beckett Trust Scholarship 2023 shortlist announced". Books+Publishing. 16 November 2023. Retrieved 20 November 2023.
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