07/10/2026
We sat down with poet, reviewer, essayist and now memoirist, Kate Camp, for a quick Q & A ahead of her upcoming sessions at QWF.
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What was the best part of writing your book?
I enjoyed the surprise and suspense of reading my 1986 diary one day at a time, in real time – it was a real journey of discovery as there is honestly so little that I remember from that year. My reflections on the day-by-day reading are what form the central section of the book.
What was the most difficult part?
I am critical of my parents in the book, and of how they turned a blind eye to some of the dangerous situations I was getting myself into. My parents are still alive and I am close with both of them, they have been amazing parents so it felt quite disloyal to be critical. But I feel like, when you do this kind of personal writing, you need to be honest and not censor yourself.
What is the best response you’ve received to it?
It’s opened up some really interesting conversations with strangers and with friends, about their youth and what they find relatable. I think as teenagers we are so self-conscious, and believe everyone else has got it sorted. It’s nice to have conversations now in middle age and realise, no one really has it all figured out, not at 14, and not at 54!
Can you share a Queenstown memory with us?
I did a South Island camping trip by myself for three weeks when I was in my 20s, after a break up. I remember driving the road from Queenstown to Glenorchy and just pulling off again and again to take a picture with my digital camera – each view just seemed to be more incredible than the last. After a while I realised there was no point trying to capture it, you just have to soak it up while you’re there.
Who are you most looking forward to seeing or meeting at Queenstown Writers Festival and why?
Really looking forward to the morning after the election panel – not often you get a live debrief from a bunch of insiders like that. And I think Megan Nicol Reed’s session with Claire Mabey will be great.
Please give us a book recommendation (one that is not your own!)
'The Starving Bride' by Catherine Chidgey is out soon, and it’s amazing – really scary and gothic. I ripped through it so quickly and I think it’s going to spark a lot of conversations.
What inspires you to write?
Because it’s Wednesday morning! For more than 20 years I have started my “day job” at midday on a Wednesday, so I have time to write in the morning. For me that routine has become almost a sacred ritual and I write at that time regardless of how inspired I am feeling.
Do you have a food, place, pet, music or something else that motivates you?
See above – my writing desk at home has a pin board above it with various pictures and quotes. One of them is a post-it that reads “Keep the Faith” – for me that means, trust the process, believe that if I sit down to write, eventually something good will happen.
What are you working on now?
I am writing poetry, which is my usual discipline. One poem at a time, eventually it will become my ninth book of poems. As long as I keep the faith!
