Welcome to Travel•Writing•Circus

Hello and Welcome to my newsletter, Travel•Writing•Circus!

Starting a newsletter has been on my to-do list for literal years, so I am SO excited to be launching this out into the world!

I wanted to take this opportunity to reintroduce myself:

My name is Kate, I am 36 years old, born and bred in sunny Queensland, Australia. I am currently living on the Gold Coast, having recently returned from a year spent living, working, and writing in Ireland.

There are three things I love and prioritise in my life: writing, travel, and circus.

Writing

Having discovered a love of storytelling early in life, at age twenty-one, I independently published my first book, a creative nonfiction novel titled The Wilted Rose, inspired by my family’s experience with mental illness stigma during the 1960s and 70s. 

In my writing, I take a particular interest in exploring various human experiences and perspectives. I predominantly write literary crime and psychological suspense, sometimes with a sprinkling of the supernatural.

As a writer I have received recognition from awards and competitions around Australia, most recently as a finalist in the Outback Writer’s Festival Short Story Competition. My selection as a finalist in the Wild Atlantic Writers Award (Ireland) was my first international recognition. I have been shortlisted in the 2022 SD Harvey Short Crime Story Award, and won the 2022 GenreCon Short Story Competition with my entry Ten of Swords. My past recognitions including The Hunter Writers Centre Grieve Writing Competition (pictured below) and the Reader’s Digest 100 Word Short Story Competition.

Circus

As KarniKate, I perform short shows combining hula hoop and aerial hoop skills, featuring themes including Outer Space, James Bond, Christmas, Australia, Burlesque Clown and more.

Over the last ten years, I have performed at major events around Queensland and interstate, most recently in the Brisbane Irish Festival St Patrick’s Day Parade. Other events include the Royal Brisbane Exhibition, Brisbane Festival, Woodford Folk Festival, and Caloundra Music Festival. I have also performed in New Years Eve and Australia Day events, Movie World: Fright Night & White Christmas events, and various Vulcana Circus productions. In 2024, I competed in my first aerial arts competition, Bend the Air.

Travel

Some places I visit out of pure intrigue, sometimes it’s for different writing and circus-focused events and experiences: check out my blog about my life-changing trip to Darwin and Kakadu for the NT Writers Festival!

After several solo trips in and around Australia, my first overseas adventure was a solo trip to Singapore, Paris, Britain and Ireland. I have also spent time in Thailand and New Zealand. In 2024 I packed up my life on the Gold Coast and flew to Vancouver, where I spent seven weeks travelling around the country west to east, and then returned to Ireland, where I spent a year living, working and writing. I have written a blog series called The Cold Plunge about this experience, and am also working on a memoir and a podcast, so keep an eye out for those!

This newsletter is a home for stories in motion: on the page, on the road, and in the air.
Sometimes you might get a short piece of writing to spark your imagination. Other times, a glimpse into life on the move, or lessons from training that apply just as much to creativity and everyday life as they do to the circus. My hope is that each message leaves you a little more curious, a little braver, and a little more inspired to make something of your own.

Thank you for subscribing and for sharing your time with me. I’m so glad you’re here, and I’m excited to have you along on this journey of exploration and creativity.

Yours in creativity,

Kate Kelsen
Writer, Traveller, Performer