Kate Simpson is an award-winning editor, poet, critic and journalist, working across art, culture, literature and the environment. She has edited titles for Faber, Valley Press, Ambit, New Writing North, and Aesthetica, and has written for the TLS, Poetry Review, Poetry London, and The London Magazine, amongst others.
Her 2021 anthology, 'Out of Time: Poetry from the Climate Emergency', was a Poetry Book Society Special Commendation – lauded as the 'definitive anthology for this decisive decade' – and was listed as one of the Guardian’s 2021 Books of the Year.
From 2016 to 2022, Kate worked as part of the editorial team at Aesthetica Magazine. She wrote for, and edited, 35 editions of the bi-monthly publication. She also worked across a number of additional projects, editions and prizes, including the Aesthetica Art Prize, Creative Writing and BAFTA-Qualifying Short Film Festival, whilst programming for major lecture series and events, including five editions of the Aesthetica Future Now Symposium.
In her various roles as an editor, journalist and events programmer, she has collaborated with numerous large-scale institutions, publishers, galleries, festivals and organisations, Select collaborators have included Apple, Audible, Bloomsbury, British Journal of Photography, Carcanet, Guardian, Granta, Guggenheim, London Art Fair, MIT Press, London Review of Books, Penguin Random House, Sony, V&A, Royal Academy and more.
She has spoken at numerous events including Frieze London, Durham Book Festival, and Sotheby Arts Publishers Fair, amongst others, and has judged numerous literary and cultural awards, including, in 2021, the Sony World Photography Awards, and poetry awards alongside Inua Ellams, Ian McMillan, Imtiaz Dharker and Daljit Nagra.
She has been interviewed by the likes of MagCulture and XR Writers, and has received press coverage in the TLS, Guardian, Observer, and more.
She has numerous titles due for publication in 2022 and 2023.
Projects
- Out of Time: Poetry from the Climate EmergencyIf you compressed the whole of Earth’s history into a single day, the first humans that look like us would appear at less than four seconds to midnight. In the last few seconds, we begin to burn fossil fuels at an alarming rate. The Anthropocene is an artificial geological epoch of our own design – one defined by emergency, with disastrous ecological effects rippling outwards across the entire globe. The illusions of civilisation, progress and choice are crumbling around us, and we are out of ti
Projects credited in
- Issue 107: Shaping the FutureThis issue captures the current zeitgeist, and is a reminder of how much the past forms part of the present. There are so many things that connect us as human beings, right now, here on planet Earth, as we shape the future amidst our rapidly changing surroundings.
- The Aesthetica Future Now Symposium 2021The Future Now Symposium returns for its sixth edition, doubling its length as a four-day arts festival exploring the mechanisms of art and culture with a significantly expanded programme of panel discussions, expert masterclasses, portfolio reviews and advice sessions, running live 28 April – 1 May, and is then available On Demand 2-31 May. This momentous four-day event brings together global institutions, galleries, publications and artists for discussion on the most pressing issues in today’4
- Issue 100: Charting the CourseThis is a special edition of Aesthetica Magazine. We are 100 issues old, marking 18 years of the publication. Inside this issue we are celebrating this momentous milestone with a range of features that celebrate innovation and the independent spirit. https://shop.aestheticamagazine.com6
- Aesthetica Creative Writing Award Annual 2021The Aesthetica Creative Writing Award is a celebration of innovation across poetry and short fiction, commending writers for their use of form, concept and technique. These winning and shortlisted entries connect readers to a profound sense of self as well as their shared humanity. Emergency threads its way through many of the works – considering the pandemic as well as cultural crises born of inequality and injustice. However, at the centre of these powerful and necessary pieces are tender mome1
- Issue 98: A New WorldHere we are, at the end of one year and the start of a new one. We’ve all been through so much together, and yet, apart from one another. Technology has played a huge role this year as it becomes further integrated into our daily lives, mostly because we do not have a choice. Fear has also played a momentous role as we round up 10 months of a global pandemic and its ramifications. However, beyond this, there’s a huge amount of relief and joy to be found knowing Trump will be gone from the White9
- Aesthetica Film Festival 2020 Programme2020 has had its challenges for the film and events industry but Aesthetica has responded with a programme that is rich, diverse and captivating. The 10th Anniversary Edition of the Aesthetica Film Festival will take place 3-30 November in a new and exciting way – comprising digital and live-streamed events. Films in competition at this year’s Aesthetica Film Festival span a range of genres including animation, documentary, drama, dance, fashion and thriller. The festival also welcomes renowned2
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Work history
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EditorFreelance
United KingdomFreelance
am an award-winning editor, working independently for a range of esteemed UK publishers. I have conceived ideas for innovative new titles, commissioned and developed work with key literary talent, including Forward Prize and TS Eliot prize-winning poets. I have extensive experience in producing books autonomously from inception to completion: selecting, editing and sequencing work; co-ordinating and nurturing authors; checking proofs, covers and design; building and executing marketing plans.
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Literary JournalistFreelance
United KingdomFreelance
Regular contributor to esteemed UK journals, magazines and newspapers including TLS, Poetry Review, Poetry London, and The London Magazine, amongst others. Topics and genres include: poetics, natural history, the environment, fiction and non-fiction.
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Skills
- Editing
- Fact Checking
- Design
- Proofreading
- Copyediting
- Commissioning Content
- Writing
- Content Curation
- Sub-editing
- Journalism
Education
Awards
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Poetry Book Society Special CommendationPoetry Book Society
The Poetry Book Society was founded by T S Eliot and friends in 1953 to share the joy of poetry. In 2016, supported by Arts Council England, the Poetry Book Society moved to Newcastle (UK) to join Inpress. Every quarter, PBS's expert team of poet selectors read hundreds of poetry books and pamphlets, submitted in an open call to all publishers big and small. They choose the very best new poetry books to award the PBS Selections and deliver to members across the globe.