Katherine Reay is the national bestselling and award-winning author of several novels and one nonfiction book, Awful Beautiful Life, co-authored with Rebecca Powell.

Katherine holds a BA and MS from Northwestern University, graduating Phi Beta Kappa. She then worked in marketing and development before returning to graduate school for a Masters of Theological Studies. Moves to Texas, England, Ireland, and Washington left that degree unfinished as Katherine spent her time unpacking, raising kids, volunteering, writing, and exploring new storylines and new cities. Katherine writes full-time now and, as her kids go off to college, she finds the house increasingly quiet. Soon only she and her husband, with dogs Patch, Trip, and Dash, will live at home outside Chicago.

Katherine writes love letters to books and her novels are saturated with what she calls the “world of books.” They are character-driven stories that examine the past as a way to find one’s best way forward. In the words of The Bronte Plot’s Lucy Alling, Katherine writes of “that time when you don’t know where you’ll be, but you can’t stay as you are.”

When not plotting a character’s demise and long journey home, Katherine can be found walking (no longer running) the neighborhood, hanging out with her kids and friends, or – rarely and with great excitement – fly fishing in Montana. You can also find her all across social media chatting about life, literature, and the world of books.

“Be prepared for a little magic,”
— Herald-Dispatch