About Katya

Katya de Becerra writes atmospheric horror and fantasy featuring determined characters, complicated families, and enigmatic places. Her novels have been praised as “thoughtful and compelling” (The Bulletin) and “haunting, intense, and eerily spooky” (Kirkus Reviews). Her young adult fiction has received multiple starred reviews and major awards, including the Aurealis Award for Best Young Adult Novel and the Shadows Award for Best Novel. Katya is also the co‑editor of This Fresh Hell, an anthology that reimagines and subverts classic horror tropes, which was a finalist for the 2024 Australian Science Fiction (“Ditmar”) Award for Best Collected Work. Her short fiction appears regularly in anthologies and literary magazines. Her forthcoming novel, Little Kin, is her adult debut. Drawing on Katya’s training as a cultural anthropologist, the novel explores kinship, inheritance, ritual obligation, and the ethics of care—examining how families are formed, sustained, and haunted across generations. Little Kin reflects Katya’s long‑standing interest in belonging, interdependence, and the uncanny persistence of the past. Katya holds a PhD in Cultural Anthropology and is a tenured university academic. She lives in Australia, on the lands called Merri-bek, where the Wurundjeri Woi wurrung people are the Traditional Owners.

Workshop: Meeting the Monster: Finding the Emotional Core of Horror

Sunday 26th April, 11am to 11:45am

Horror is more than shock and spectacle—it’s a genre that reveals who we are under pressure. In this one‑hour online workshop, multi‑award‑winning author Katya de Becerra explores how horror uses monsters, the uncanny, and fear itself to reflect identity, trauma, and transformation.

Drawing on examples from contemporary, cutting‑edge horror, Katya will unpack how emotionally resonant horror works and why it lingers. Participants will take part in two short, guided writing exercises designed to help you generate a horror concept and shape a moment of tension on the page.

This session is ideal for writers curious about horror, speculative fiction, or dark storytelling—and for anyone interested in how fear can become a powerful creative tool.

 Running time: 105 minutes including breaks

 Tickets: £14.50/£11.50 (plus 50p booking fee)

 The workshop will be take place in Zoom meetings. You will receive the Zoom link 48 hours before the event. Workshops are not recorded.