Kate has been working in children’s publishing for over 15 years, most of those as an editor at Scholastic Australia. In that time she’s edited Australian picture books, middle grade illustrated fiction and junior fiction—including Ella Diaries, 200 Minutes of Danger, Liars, Fartboy and Daring Delly. Kate has also had extensive experience writing and editing books for major licensors such as Disney, Marvel, Nickelodeon and DC Comics. Kate’s academic background is in psychology, cultural studies and English.  
 
Kate would like to assess manuscripts and artwork targeting readers aged 2-12. 
Her areas of expertise for ages 6+ (in no particular order) are humour, fantasy, mystery, sci-fi, action and adventure. 

For picture books Kate is most interested in manuscripts of 500 words or less that appeal directly to children aged 3-5 with relatable themes and/or humour.

Regarding artwork, Kate would love to review portfolios of work that include examples of black and white line art suitable for readers aged 6+, as well as colour art (for all ages) of characters with expressive faces, and bodies that can convey a sense movement.  
 
Most of Kate's work is on commercial titles that kids read for fun, and so she is less interested in texts with an obvious 'moral to the story', or strong political or religious themes.