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Kathryn Apel is a born-and-bred farm girl who’s scared of cows. She lives among the gum trees, kangaroos and cattle on a Queensland grazing property. Kat paints pictures with words, because much as she’d love to, Kat can’t draw. She loves pumping poetry because she can flex her muscles across other genres, to bend (and break) writing rules. A trained teacher and literacy consultant, Kathryn shares her passion for words at schools and festivals. Kat was the 2019/2020 Primary Judge of the prestigious Dorothea Mackellar Poetry Awards.

Kathryn specialises in poetry workshops for kids and adults – and staff professional development sessions across grades and curriculum area.

Click the tabs to find out more about The Kat’s Whiskers and her words. Read about Kat’s Books, with links to reviews & activities, or to Buy Books. Download Kids’ Stuff activities for home & classroom use.

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Kathryn was the recipient of a 2018 May Gibbs Creative Time Fellowship in Adelaide, and an RADF Grant, to attend the 2019 3-day CYA Conference and associated activities.

New Releases: Up and Down on a Rainy Day (2020) / The Bird in the Herd (2021)

 

Coming Soon: What Snail Knows (March 2022)

 

Information and images on this website are copyright Kathryn Apel. Not to be reposted or published without prior written permission.

 

This Post Comes With Cute Alert!

I’m thinking today must be my cutest post – ever! Because I’m sharing fellow Aussie kidlit author, Michael Gerard Bauer‘s adorable little granddaughter, reading ‘The Bird in the Herd’. She’s not even two! I love the rock and read. And her adorable pronunciation. That expressive finish. And those precious moments of shared reading between Daddy … Continue reading →

Coming Soon! What Snail Knows

I am delighted to share the cover of my upcoming verse novel with you. Illustrated by Mandy Foot and published by UQP, What Snail Knows will be releasing March 2022 in Australia. Some of the words that have been used to describe it thus far include; delicate, gorgeous and whimsical, pretty and fairytale. I’m utterly … Continue reading →

What a Snail Shows

I was recently rearranging my snail home and (Gah!) dropped T1 … onto my tiled floor. My heart dropped, too, before I even saw the broken shell. We know what happens when things drop on tiles. I was sure I had condemned T1 to a painful death. Such a significant portion of the new growth … Continue reading →

A Whisker of Poetry

Could there be a better OpShop find? I will only talk in cat poems from now on.   life will be crazy little kitty – pounce like a tiger (This untitled cunning whisker of poetry © Kathryn Apel – All rights reserved) Feline Affection mischievous cunning; pounce nip swat hiss trick play scratch stripe like … Continue reading →

Nothing… 😶

I’m rather delighted to share another short poem published on the  Dirigible Balloon this week. Contrary to what you might think, it’s a poem where I have nothing to say. Intrigued? You can read (and hear) more here. I’m also excited to say that I’ve had a sneak peek at the new Australian verse novel … Continue reading →