Born in Cumbria, Katie Hale is a poet, freelance journalist and educator. She took part in Penguin Random House's inaugural WriteNow scheme in 2018, has held Emerging Writer in Residence posts at Theatre by the Lake and Creative Futures Cumbria, and is currently working on an oral story-sharing project with the National Trust. Her debut poetry pamphlet, Breaking the Surface, was published by Flipped Eye in 2017. Her poetry has been awarded the Jane Martin and Ware Poetry Prizes, and has been shortlisted for the Ballymaloe International Poetry Prize.