Kate Hewitt

Kate Hewitt is the pen name of Katharine Swartz, who is the author of numerous works of contemporary and historical fiction, with a particular focus on the ethical dilemmas of modern society, especially around issues of fertility, surrogacy and adoption. Her historical novels tell the small and often unnoticed acts of bravery during the Second World War, particularly within Germany itself, and are often inspired by real people. Her novels have regularly hit USA Today and Kindle bestseller lists, and have been translated into many languages, including French, Italian, German, Hungarian, Polish, Russian and Slovakian.

Kate is also a Core Editor for Cornerstones Literary Consultancy, and helps aspiring writers to develop and improve their stories. She also runs writing retreats in the Wye Valley, focusing on assisting authors in creating believable and compelling emotional conflicts within fiction. She enjoys leading creative writing clubs within local primary schools, to encourage creativity at the youngest age.

Before turning to writing fulltime, Kate has been a teacher, youth worker and stay-at-home mum to her five children. An American ex-pat who has lived all over the UK, Kate currently lives in a market town in South Wales with her husband, her two youngest children still at home and two golden retrievers. She is currently working on an historical quartet set aboard the St Louis, a ship with nearly a thousand Jewish refugees that in 1939 was refused landing in the United States and was sent back to Europe, where many of the refugees ended up in concentration camps.