Kate Cantrell

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Kate Cantrell is a health humanities scholar working at the intersection of narrative health, trauma studies, and the arts. Her research examines cultural and literary representations of illness, suffering, and care, with a focus on the health narratives of children and young people. Her current program of work includes collaborative projects exploring the lived experience of childhood cancer, specifically grief and bereavement.

Kate has published over 80 journal articles, book chapters, and conference papers as well as high-impact articles with the ABC, Times Higher Education, and The Conversation, collectively amassing over 3 million reads. Her short stories, nonfiction, and poetry appear in distinguished literary journals such as Overland, Meanjin, and Westerly.

Kate's practice combines academic inquiry with advocacy to close the distance between research and lived experience and create tangible social benefits for vulnerable communities. She has consulted on global health campaigns at the United Nations and currently holds consumer advocacy and communications roles with ANZCHOG, Cancer Council Queensland, Neuroblastoma Australia, and Redkite.

Kate is an award-winning educator whose work on trauma-informed practice has received national recognition, including an AAUT citation for building career readiness and resilience through trauma-informed pedagogy. At present, Kate is the Associate Editor of Queensland Review and the Joint Editor of the Journal of the Association for the Study of Australian Literature. She has held academic positions at the University of Oxford, City University of London, and the Queensland University of Technology.

Experience

  • 2026–present
    Senior Lecturer - Humanities, University of Southern Queensland
  • 2018–2025
    Senior Lecturer - Writing, Editing, Publishing, University of Southern Queensland
  • 2015–2016
    Post-Doctoral Researcher - Education, University of Oxford
  • 2014–2016
    Visiting Lecturer - Creative Writing, City, University of London
  • 2011–2014
    Associate Lecturer - Creative Writing & Literary Studies, Queensland University of Technology

Education

  • 2016 
    University of Oxford, Masters - Higher Education and Applied Linguistics
  • 2014 
    Queensland University of Technology, PhD - Creative Writing and Literary Studies
  • 2008 
    Queensland University of Technology, BCI - Creative Writing (1st Class Honours)

Professional Memberships

  • Australasian Association of Writing Programmes (AAWP)
  • Australian Federation of Graduate Women (AFGW)
  • Australian Society of Authors (ASA)
  • Australian Society of Travel Writers (ASTW)
  • Australian Women’s and Gender Studies Association (AWGSA)
  • English Teachers’ Association of Queensland (ETAQ)
  • International Society for Travel Writing (ISTW)
  • National Association for the Teaching of English (NATE)
  • National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE)
  • Queensland Writers’ Centre (QWC)

Honours

Australian Delegate 60th Commission on the Status of Women (CSW60, United Nations); Heinrich Böll Writer-in-Residence (Ireland, 2016); Stiwdio Maelor Writer-in-Residence (Wales, 2015); Katharine Susannah Prichard Emerging Writer-in-Residence (Australia, 2013); Australian Delegate (UNANIMA International, United Nations, 2010); Travellers’ Tales Writer-in-Residence (Spain, 2009); Queensland Smart Futures PhD Fellow (2009-2011).

Contact Kate for

  • General
  • Media request
  • Speaking request
  • Consulting / Advising
  • Research collaboration
  • Research supervision