About MeI'm a Vancouver-born speculative fiction writer, speaker, and creative writing coach—and the current leader of CWILL's exec team. I love connecting with + read more readers and writers, especially the next generation of young storytellers, and welcome inquiries from event planners both at home and abroad.

Look for local history and alt-reality/futuristic versions of Metro-Van & other BC locations in most of my work, often with a climate fiction edge. I've written award-winning, translated, indie and traditionally-published short stories, the celebrated "monsters-and-magic in post-climate-collapse Vancouver" YA fantasy trilogy THREADS OF DREAMS, and a forthcoming spooky middle grade set in Chilliwack, BC.

Notably, I was a guest speaker at the first ORCHIDS Children's Literature Fest in Mumbai, have won the Abbotsford Arts Council's "Arty's" 2021 Literary Arts Awards and the 2020 Page Turner Awards Book Spotlight Prize, teach term length and summer camp workshops as a creative writing coach with Creative Writing for Children Society, and currently serve on the CWILL BC executive as President. Show Less

My Work Speaker Info Contact Me

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You May Know Me For:

Literature Types
• Middle Grade Fiction
• YA Fiction

Published WorksBLIND THE EYES (Threads of Dreams 1), 2018: A haunted teen finds the strength to fight back. Climate crisis meets folkloric monsters in dystopian future Vancouver. Reader Views 2021-2022 Literary Awards Bronze for Children's Books Classics (pre-2021 releases), Page Turner Awards 2020 eBook Award Book Spotlight Prize Winner, Barnes & Noble Press "20 Favorite Indie Books of 2018."

LETTER FROM THE END OF THE WORLD (Threads of Dreams 0.1), 2019: A villain origin story of a climate warrior turned corporate spy in the final days of pre-flood Vancouver. Also in translation as LETTERA DALLA FINE DEL MONDO (Virgibooks, 2019).

THE UNSOUGHT LIGHT, 2019: Japanese legend THE MAIDEN OF UNAI retold with a Gothic twist.

ON THE EDGE, Enchanted Conversation: A Fairytale Magazine, 2019: Dark fantasy/fairytale travel story of escaping adulthood and hunting magic in historic sites across the UK. Also licensed by Frozen Wavelets by The Earthian Hivemind, 2020.

A SONG OF DARK THINGS, Fiction-Atlas Press, 2019: dark fantasy/fairytale retelling of Scottish folktales THE FIDDLERS OF TOMNAHURICH & THOMAS THE RHYMER set in modern-day Highlands & Islands region. First published in the UNKNOWN REALMS anthology from Fiction-Atlas Press.

BLACK THE TIDES (Threads of Dreams 2), 2020: Dreamwalker teens travel from flooded Vancouver to a utopian eco-city in Northern BC while battling sea monsters and the ghosts that haunt them.

BOY WITH NO NAME (Threads of Dreams 1.1), Fiction-Atlas Press, 2020: A squad of dreamwalker teen ecologists fight sea monsters in post-climate crisis Powell River of the future. First published in THE DEVIL YOU KNOW: A FICTION-ATLAS PRESS ANTIHERO ANTHOLOGY

BURN THE SKIES (Threads of Dreams 3), 2021: Bodysnatched teen fights the ghost of her former self to save her city, her friends, and her future.

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Speaking InformationI love speaking to readers and the next generation of writers about storytelling, creativity, writing, and resiliency/overcoming challenges and forging your + read more own path.

Past presentation topics have included:
-Writing for Youth (how to get started & why everyone's a writer)
-Pathways to Publishing (indies, small-press, big-5 & business tips)
-Monsters & Magic (speculative fiction, truth & escapism, the comfort of horror)
-Worldbuilding for Writers (how to craft the unknown through strategic questions)
-You're Not Finished (grit, glass ceilings, and chasing dreams)
-Ecopunk Futures (Exploring Climate Crisis anxiety, facing fears through horror, and reclaiming the future)

I'm a confident and engaging speaker with experience in a variety of settings (from one-on-one coaching, small workshops, summer camps and term-length workshops to masterclasses and large-group/auditorium venues).

I'm best with upper elementary through to adult audiences (G3-4 and up).

Willing to travel, schedule permitting, and happy to work with organizers to create a custom presentation, workshop, masterclass, etc. based on themes and needs of your event. I prefer to offer dynamic, flexible/topical presentations or workshops with direct audience engagement where possible, but large-group presentations with or without display graphics are also available.

See CWILL-BC guidelines for fees ("Tips" tab above)—also open to working with custom budgets. Show Less

I will visit:
• Vancouver
• Coast
• Lower Mainland
• Gulf and Vancouver Islands
• Thompson Okanagan
• Northern British Columbia
• Cariboo Chilcotin Coast
• Kootenay Rockies
• The Territories
• Canada - beyond BC
• USA
• International
• Virtually

I Present to Age Groups:
• Grades 4-6
• Grades 7-8
• High School
• College / University / Adult

Request Booking Info

TestimonialsKaie recently joined our Guild of Young Writers program for a virtual Speculative Fiction workshop + read more that exceeded all of our expectations!

Kaie provided such an insightful presentation, sharing her own writing process and tidbits about the business of writing itself before diving deep into the elements of speculative fiction.

Her presentation was interactive and engaged the students with specific tips and examples from her own writing, along with suggestions to bring back to their own writing practice.

She answered all of their questions with thoughtful and knowledgeable responses and provided the students with such inspiration to move forth with their own writing projects.

-Rebecca Ruiter
Coordinator & Facilitator | Story Studio Writing Society
storystudio.ca Show Less K.A. Wiggins is an articulate and engaging professional who knows how to bring authors into dynamic + read more conversations meant to inform, entertain and enlighten audiences of all levels.

Her ability to seamlessly orchestrate events from beginning to end further demonstrates her passion and care for all that she does.

-Bonnie Nish, PhD
Executive Director | Word Vancouver
Department of Language and Literacy Education, Faculty of Education | University of British Columbia Show Less

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Awards and Recognition:Abbotsford Arts Council 2021 Arty Awards: Literary Arts, First Place

BLIND THE EYES + show more (Threads of Dreams, 1)
-Reader Views 2021-2022 Literary Awards: Bronze in Children's Books Classics (pre-2021 releases)
-Page Turner Awards 2020: Book Spotlight Prize
-Page Turner Awards Shortlisted: 2020 eBook Awards
-Barnes & Noble Press "20 Favorite Indie Books of 2018"
-2018 KWL cover contest, SciFi/Fantasy category shortlist
-NetGalley Most Requested fantasy read
-B&N Press pick for 25 Beach Reads for Your Summer Holiday
-Handpicked as a Summer 2018 B&N Press Presents title

HIDING A PEARL
-First, Law Week Short Story Contest 2004

INCOGNITO
-Second, "It's Happening Here" FVRL Teen Writing Contest 2004

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