Kat Clay

Author

Blog

How to Get a Literary Agent

Mug of coffee with words go get em next to a writing notebook
Photo by Kyle Glenn on Unsplash

In July, I achieved one of my writing life goals by signing with Paul Stevens at Donald Maass Literary Agency. Since then I’ve had a lot of questions from friends and aspiring writers about how to get a literary agent. When you don’t have an agent, getting one seems like the holy grail of writing, something unobtainable and mysterious.  [Read more…] about How to Get a Literary Agent

‘Lady Loveday Investigates’ is shortlisted for the Scarlet Stiletto Awards

A young woman in the 1900s sits on a couch with a young admirer as her mother looks on
The Crush by Charles Dana Wilson, in the Public Domain from Wikimedia Commons

I’m over the moon to announce that my short story, ‘Lady Loveday Investigates’ has been shortlisted for the Scarlet Stiletto Awards. The Scarlet Stiletto Awards are run by Sisters in Crime for Australian female crime authors, and there’s almost $10K in prizes up for grabs.  [Read more…] about ‘Lady Loveday Investigates’ is shortlisted for the Scarlet Stiletto Awards

Where I’ll be at Continuum 14

Cat sitting on printer with the text box saying Where I'll be at Continuum 14

It’s fast coming up to the June long weekend, which means Continuum time!

Continuum is Melbourne’s speculative fiction convention for fans and authors alike. It’s a great chance to meet other like-minded people, talk about nerdy stuff, listen to panels, do karaoke and be inspired. As a writer I come back feeling inspired to write more. Even more exciting is that the Australian Shadows Awards will be having a real, live ceremony at Continuum, and I’m up for an award. You can check out the entire program here. [Read more…] about Where I’ll be at Continuum 14

All the Things That Happened at Swancon 43

Kat Clay against a Perth Skyline
Me against the stunning view from Kings Park in Perth.

I went to Swancon over the Easter long weekend for the first time ever! I usually try to make it to the National Science Fiction Convention and Continuum each year. Anything else is a bonus!

Unfortunately there weren’t a lot of people at Swancon this year. I get it – the cost of flights from the east coast to the west coast is expensive. It’s cheaper for us Melburnians to fly to Hobbiton than to Perth. There were no international guest of honor this year, but kudos to Foz Meadows for stepping in. I also found the proportion of fans to writers much higher than at other conventions like Continuum. However, it was exciting to be there for both the Aurealis and Ditmar Awards. [Read more…] about All the Things That Happened at Swancon 43