Moving the Elephant

Kath Mckay was born in Liverpool, studied at Queen’s, Belfast and Goldsmith’s, London. She lives in Leeds and since 2008 has taught fiction and poetry at the University of Hull. She previously worked for Leeds University Continuing Education Department, the WEA and the University of London. 

She writes poetry, fiction and non-fiction. She has published two full poetry collections, Anyone Left Standing (Smith Doorstop, 1998), winner of the Poetry Business competition and Collision Forces (Wrecking Ball Press, 2015), and a pamphlet, Telling the Bees (Smiths Knoll, 2014). She has also published two novels, Waiting for the Morning (The Women’s Press, 1991) and Hard Wired (Moth/ Mayfly Press 2016), winner of the Northern crime novel writing competition. Her short stories have gained Arts Council awards, been broadcast on Radio 4 and published in anthologies and magazines. 

Her non-fiction work includes co-editing and contributing to I wouldn’t start from here: The Second Generation Irish in Britain (The Wild Geese Press, 2019). She also co-edited and contributed to End Notes: Ten stories about loss, mourning and commemoration (Edge Publishing, 2017).