Author, writer, artist, librarian, rubbish picker-upperer.
Creative focus:
Literature, Writing
Services / Open to:
Collaboration, Commissions, Consulting, Exhibitions, Performance / gigs, Residencies, Workshops
Website / Socials
Primary location:
Bega Valley Shire
Kate is pictured standing against a wall. Photo: Lily Ballantyne
Kate Liston-Mills is a neurodiverse author, artist, librarian and rubbish-picker-upperer based in Djiringanj and Thaua Countries.
Her first two books, The Waterfowl Are Drunk! and Dear Ibis (both published by Spineless Wonders) are collections of short stories set in regional Australia, with Dear Ibis winning an ACT Notable award for fiction in 2022.
Her third book, To Heal a Lyrebird (2025), forms part of a larger project titled The Lyrebird Project, which delves into fashion, music, theatre, art, installation, and protest; this project featured in the Bokeh Sound and Light Festival in Candelo and will also feature in the Burrinja Climate Change Biennale in Melbourne later this year. To Heal a Lyrebird was shortlisted for the Australian Book Design awards and won for Fiction in the Marion ACT Literary Awards (both in 2026).
Kate has worked exclusively in and for Australian short fiction for many years for publisher Spineless Wonders, facilitating their online short story book club and as a judge in multiple short story competitions around the country including the Olga Masters short story competition.
Inspired by her time as a radio host showcasing Australian short fiction for Little Fictions on Air, and her work as a librarian, Kate is passionate about re-imagining the book as an evolving project without parameters—something alive. Kate loves collaborating with other artists with shared values and her practice and approach remains fluid and evolving.
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