Kate Howarth (born in Sydney, 1950) is an Indigenous Australian writer whose memoir Ten Hail Marys was published by the University of Queensland Press in 2010.
Early Life
editAbandoned by her mother as an infant, Kate Howarth was raised by her grandmother and other relatives in Darlinghurst and rural N.S.W.[1] When Howarth fell pregnant at the age of 15, she was sent by her grandmother to the St Margaret's Home for Unwed Mothers in Sydney.[2] After giving birth, she resisted the pressure to give her son up for adoption and became one of few women to leave the institution with her child.[3] The story of the first 17 years of her life is recounted in her memoir Ten Hail Marys, which challenges evidence taken at a Parliamentary inquiry into Adoption Practices in N.S.W. from 1950 to 1998.[1]
Career
editTaken out of school at age 14, due to hardship, Howarth overcame all obstacles placed in her path. She has been a corporate executive, and was instrumental in developing Manpower Personnel, which became a leader in its field. Following an accident that left her unable to operate her business Howarth turned her hand to writing. In 2008 her unpublished manuscript was shortlisted for the Queensland Premier's Literary Awards, David Uniapon Award. Her first book, 10 Hail Mary's, was published by the University of Queensland Press in 2010, and went on to win The Age Non-Fiction Book of the Year, and was shortlisted for the Victorian Premier's Literary Award.
Books
edit- Ten Hail Marys (2010) ISBN 9780-7022-3770-6
Awards and nominations
editAwards
edit- 2010 The Age Book of the Year (Non-fiction) for Ten Hail Marys
Shortlisted
edit- 2008 - Queensland Premier's Literary Awards (David Uniapon Award) for Ten Hail Marys