Kate Lemery has a master’s degree in art history and worked for the National Gallery of Art and the Smithsonian Institution for fifteen years before becoming a stay-at-home mom. Her writing has appeared in the Washington Post, Motherwell Magazine, Peacock Journal, and elsewhere. She lives with her family in suburban Washington, DC, and is seeking representation for her first novel—a coming-of-age story for adults, set in an art museum.
“A book only works when a reader understands it, and that is not always what a writer can judge.” Kate Lemery sits down with Tracy Chevalier to talk about reading, art, process, and her latest novel, A Single Thread, out now from Viking.
“I learned the craft of writing first by reading, then by writing, then by reading again”: Laura Scalzo answers Kate Lemery’s questions about her journey as a writer and her 2018 debut, The Speed of Light in Air, Water, and Glass.
“I thought the time for the book had come and gone, but when I pulled the book out again in 2017, I realized the topic had become relevant again in the intervening years.” Julie Landsdorf chats with Kate Lemery about her debut novel, White Elephant, out tomorrow from Ecco.
“Between those lines I sketched a person. I hope I did her justice.” Carrie Callaghan talks with Kate Lemery about bringing seventeenth-century painter Judith Leyster to life for her debut novel, A Light of Her Own, out now from Amberjack.
“We need to ask why we choose the characters we do and what we are trying to communicate with them. We need to challenge our own biases.” Rene Denfeld talks with Kate Lemery about writing, social justice, and The Child Finder, out now in paperback by HarperCollins.
“I am not always writing, but I’m always immersed in the world of a book”: Christina Baker Kline chats with Kate Lemery about her award-winning novel A Piece of the World, now out in paperback from HarperCollins.
“And then it came to me that instead of writing a literary book about motherhood, I’d write a suspenseful book about motherhood”: Aimee Molloy talks about motherhood, the difference between writing fiction and nonfiction, and her debut novel, The Perfect Mother, out next week from HarperCollins.
“Food is a central character in this book because food fulfills a central role in our lives”: Mandy Mikulencak chats with Kate Lemery about historical fiction, getting published, and The Last Suppers, her new book out now from Kensington’s John Scognamiglio imprint.
