Hello! My name is Kate Gilby Smith.
I’m an award-winning children’s author and a commercial fiction editor based in London.
My first children’s novel The Astonishing Future of Alex Nobody was published by Hachette in June 2021. It won the Awesome Book Awards 2023 and was chosen for the Book Trust’s 2023 BookBuzz programme. It has been published in Dutch and Italian with further translations forthcoming.
My second middle-grade novel, Olive Jones and the Memory Thief, was published by Hachette in July 2022 and was chosen as one of the Sunday Times Best Children’s Books for Summer, picked by Nicolette Jones who called the book ‘refreshing’. It was also selected as one of the Financial Times Best Children’s Books of 2022, chosen by James Lovegrove who called it ‘a rollicking espionage adventure’. Olive Jones and the Memory Thief has been shortlisted for the James Reckitt Hull Children’s Book Award 2023 and was featured on the Scottish Book Trust’s Scottish Friendly Book Tour 2022.
There’s more information here about my books, new writing projects, upcoming events and ways to get in touch about event bookings and school talks. Feel free to have a look around!
Praise for Books by Kate Gilby Smith
“Kate Gilby Smith’s second novel, with its Bondian gadgets and le Carré-esque moles, should keep junior spy-thriller aficionados very happy”
“Refreshing”
“Expect the unexpected in this exciting, twisty tale”
“A character-driven adventure packed with thought-provoking ideas, from time-travel scenarios to identity and the value of friendship.”
“A great idea, pulled off with real panache... the whole thing is a delight”
“A joyous, inventive and original rollicking adventure”
“Olive Jones and the Memory Thief is a fun-filled ride with spies and care homes! I loved it!’”
“More twists and turns than the hands of a clock on a helter-skelter... I loved it.”
“A brilliant page-turning, time travelling adventure, full of heart and filled with courage and friendship”
“A super original concept and a book brimming with imagination. And I loved that ending!”
A brilliant middle-grade adventure for fans of Ross Welford - a story about friendship, courage and embracing our talents even when they make us stand out.
Olive Jones has just inherited her grandmother's memories - through a mysterious new device called a Memoriser. But her grandma has left her a mystery in those memories. And now it's up to Olive to solve it.
Contact me
I’d love to hear from you! Please get in touch to enquire about media opportunities, book events and school visits. If you’re a teacher and your class is reading one of my books, please do feel free to ask me a question.
My literary agent is Chloe Seager at Madeleine Milburn Literary Agency.