Novelist and Flash Fiction Author
Kathy Derrick is a writer, writing coach and co-founder of Pavlova Press, based in Kerikeri, New Zealand. She co-wrote Scoria: Short Prose from the Cinder Cone with her sister Jac Jenkins and has co-edited Ngā Ripo Wai | Swirling Waters and Pav Deconstructed. Her short prose has also appeared in periodicals, anthologies, blogs and websites.
Books by Kathy Derrick
Scoria
A lyrical prose collaboration exploring the small, glassy fragments of everyday life.
About the author
Kathy came to writing by an indirect route, beginning her working life as a chemical engineer before studying applied writing and later completing an MSc in Creative Writing at the University of Edinburgh. She is interested in character, relationships, belonging and the stories people carry with them, and is currently working on a multi-generational novel.
Alongside her own writing and publishing work, Kathy has spent many years helping other writers develop theirs. She has taught applied writing at NorthTec, developed and facilitated writing workshops, and founded Pen to Paper Online Coaching for Writers.
Her coaching is individual rather than formula-driven. She works with writers to understand what their particular story is trying to become, where they are getting stuck, and what kind of feedback, structure or accountability will help them move forward. Underpinning her approach is a belief that a story has its own truth and does not need to be engineered into somebody else’s idea of what it should be. Just as important is helping writers strengthen their own judgement and confidence so that, over time, they become less dependent on outside answers.
