Kate Hamer

Kate Hamer, who completed an MA in Creative Writing at Aberystwyth in 2013, has been signed to Faber in a two book deal. Kate’s first novel, The Girl in the Red Coat, was published in February 2015 and was shortlisted for the Costa First Novel Award and the Wales Book of the Year People’s Choice Award 2016.

The novel, which began life as a piece of coursework for Kate’s MA Creative Writing, tells the story of Carmel, a young girl, and her mother. When Carmel goes missing one day at a festival, both mother and daughter embark on their own individual terrifying journeys, in a mystery with undertones of a fairy tale. Kate recalls: 'When I received the news that Faber wanted to publish The Girl in the Red Coat I was beyond thrilled. For a first time novelist, there's nothing better than hearing such a legendary publisher wants your book.' Faber’s Sarah Savitt has called Kate ‘a distinctive new voice in British fiction’. The German rights to the novel have also been sold in a six-figure deal. 

Kate grew up in Pembrokeshire and now lives in Cardiff. She has previously won the Rhys Davies short story award, as well as being awarded a Literature Wales New Writer’s bursary.