Kathryn van Beek 

Kathryn was walking home one day when she saw a tiny creature on the ground. When she looked closer, she realised the little ball of fluff was a day-old kitten! She took it home and the adventures of Bruce the Cat began. The bottle-fed kitten’s story went viral, and soon he had followers all over the world. Kathryn wrote and illustrated two critically acclaimed children’s books about him – Bruce Finds A Home and Bruce Goes Outside.

Kathryn also writes stories for adults, and last year released her debut collection, Pet. Described as “brilliantly written” and “a dark volume of New Zealand stories by a master of the form”, Pet is also available as a podcast.

Kathryn is a graduate of Victoria University’s International Institute of Modern Letters. She has won the Mindfood Short Story Competition, the Headland Short Story Prize, Best of the Auckland Zinefest, and several Playmarket and Wellington Fringe Festival awards. Her stories have appeared in Best of Auckland, Newsroom, Fresh Ink, and takahē, and her non-fiction has been published in the NZ Herald, the Sunday Star-Times, and The Spinoff.
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Kathryn lives in Koputai Port Chalmers with Bruce and her other rescue cat, Jager. You can follow Bruce and Jager's adventures on Facebook. 

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Kathryn van Beek at DWRF 2021​:
Story Time Double Decker Bus