Now Then!
(How we greet each other in the North East of England.)

My name is Katie Metcalfe and I'm an English writer, blogger, poet and publisher. I'm also a mother living with bi-polar and I tend to be a bit too weird for most people.

I think I must have been born with a pen in my hand because when I'm not writing, the world feels at odds. When I'm not writing, I feel uncomfortable in my skin. When I'm not writing, I feel I'm not being the person I was put here to be. So I'm navigating this writing life, one line of ink at a time, with my daughter in one hand and my pen in the other.

My career as a writer spans more than 15 years, and during that time (while battling numerous mental health conditions including anorexia, depression and psychosis) I've published 9 books, written over 250 articles for sites such as Baby GaGa, Thought Catalogue and CVLT Nation, launched several popular blogs, set up half a dozen magazines and founded a book publishing company.

I've also performed my poetry across the world, released a spoken word album, had my books adapted into award winning plays and seen my poetry, short stories and non-fiction published in dozens of anthologies, magazines and painted on walls at art exhibitions.

When I was fifteen I was admitted into a psychiatric hospital with anorexia and depression. I was on bedrest for almost a year, had to be taken to the toilet in a wheelchair and was made to eat under observation.

What helped most in my recovery (which was going on for many years after I was discharged from hospital) was my burning to be an author and write professionally for a living.

I also felt madly passionate about helping others conquer their demons and live out their dreams. My experience with anorexia led me to write my first book which was published by Accent Press after I had approached and been rejected by over 50 publishers.

This passion to help others continues to fuel me today, and I write A Gathering Of Ink, a blog where I try and do just that, by sharing my experiences as a writing mother with a mental illness who has learned to never, ever give up.

I'd like to welcome you here and I hope you find what you're looking for. However if you don't, please do get in touch and I'll be in contact before you know it. x

"My new favourite book. This book is so finely crafted, beautifully written and painfully sad."
- Amazon Review

"All I can say is that I LOVE LOVE LOVE this book!"
- Amazon Review

"This is no book for kids or for those with a nervous disposition, as the author explores topics as dark as a young girl's family falling to the plague, and being buried alive by a bear."
- Life In Norway

"The settings are made so visible in this collection, each poem takes you to the freezing north and leaves you there. Very powerful literary art drawing parallels to our own traits. Unforgettable."
- Amazon Review