Literary Birthday – 27 July – Kate Elliott

Happy Birthday, Kate Elliott, born on 27 July 1958.

Kate Elliott Quotes

1. First, READ. And then read more, and especially read widely, in as many different fields as possible. Read classics, read science, read history and archaeology, read philosophy, read lurid adventure fiction, read fiction by foreign writers translated into English, read poetry and essays written two thousand years ago, read biographies of people who lived today and who lived five hundred years ago, and then read stuff I haven’t mentioned here. Reading is the lifeblood of writers.
2. Experience the world. There is no substitute for life, and everything that happens, however mundane, however tragic, however happy or sad or indifferent or seemingly trivial, is all fodder for the mill.
3. Listen to how people talk. Watch how the clouds move across the sky. Be aware of current events, so you understand how societies and individuals interact. Go to a science museum. Go to some place you’ve never been before, if you can and if you can’t, imagine going there by checking out a book from the library and reading about it.
4. Try to walk in someone else’s shoes for an hour. Work on letting your compassion for humanity flower. Listen to your inner heart. Be curious!
5. I’ve been writing since I was a child. I wrote my first novel in high school, a second in college, and went from there. My ‘first’ published novel was actually the sixth I wrote. I also love to read, and in a way I started writing in order to read a book ‘made-to-order’ for me to read. . . . and because my favourite writers weren’t writing as fast as I could read!

Kate Elliott is an American author of 25 fantasy and science fiction novels. Known for her immersive worldbuilding and epic stories of adventure and transformative cultural change, she has been publishing speculative fiction for decades. Elliott has been writing stories since she was nine years old and believes that writing, like breathing, keeps her alive. Her novels include the young adult debut Court of Fives, as well as Cold Magic, King’s Dragon, and the short story collection The Very Best of Kate Elliott. In 2020, she published Unconquerable Sun, the first novel in a gender-bending space opera trilogy inspired by Alexander the Great. Elliott lives in Hawaii with her spouse, paddles with the outrigger canoe club Ka Māmalahoe, and cares for an ageing schnauzer.

Source for photo (credit April Quintanilla) and quotes

by Amanda Patterson
Are you interested in more authors’ birthdays? Please click here: The Complete Author Birthday Calendar