About MeI'm an award-winning speculative fiction (fantasy, sci-fi & (light) horror) author, speaker, creative educator based in the Comox Valley—and the current + read more president of CWILL BC!

I love connecting with audiences of all ages and welcome inquiries from event planners both at home and further afield.

Look for Metro Vancouver, Fraser Valley & other BC locations in most of my work, often with a climate fiction edge or historic flair.

I've become known for short fiction, including translations, audio adaptations, and publication in leading markets such as STRANGE HORIZONS, LIGHTSPEED MAGAZINE, FANTASY MAGAZINE, PULPHOUSE FICTION MAGAZINE, YEAR'S BEST CANADIAN FANTASY AND SCIENCE FICTION & more...). I'm also known for the celebrated "eco-apocalypse + monsters in dystopian Vancouver" YA Science Fantasy trilogy THREADS OF DREAMS.

When I'm not hard at work on my next releases (for younger—and older—readers), I teach domestic and international term-length intensive creative writing workshops and themed summer camps for kids and teens with the Creative Writing for Children Society, speak at festivals and conferences, and 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
• Picture Books
• Middle Grade Fiction
• YA Fiction

Published WorksYA Series THREADS OF DREAMS:

1-BLIND THE EYES: A haunted teen finds the strength to fight back. Climate crisis meets folkloric monsters in dystopian future Vancouver.

2022 Whistler Independent Book Awards Shortlisted, Reader Views 2021-2022 Literary Awards Bronze, Page Turner Awards 2020 Book Spotlight Prize Winner, Barnes & Noble Press "20 Favorite Indie Books of 2018."

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

3-BURN THE SKIES: Bodysnatched teen fights the ghost of her former self to save her city, her friends, and her future.

Related (in-series) short fiction:

LETTER FROM THE END OF THE WORLD / LETTERA DALLA FINE DEL MONDO (Virgibooks, 2019, reprint/translation)

BOY WITH NO NAME: THE DEVIL YOU KNOW: A FICTION-ATLAS PRESS ANTIHERO ANTHOLOGY (Fiction-Atlas Press, 2020)

SPECTRES OF THE OLD WORLD 1-3: A squad of dreamwalker teen ecologists fight sea monsters in post-climate crisis Powell River of the future. (2022)

UNDER: YA Dystopian Fantasy (2022)

Standalone short fiction:

"The Patron Saint of Flatliners" (MYSTERION, 2024/in YEAR'S BEST CANADIAN FANTASY AND SCIENCE FICTION: YEAR THREE, Ansible Press, 2025 reprint)

"Those Who Look at Hidden Things" (LIGHTSPEED MAGAZINE, 2024)

"The Pink Slime's Appointment With Destiny" (PULPHOUSE MAGAZINE, 2024)

"Hollow" (THE NOSLEEP PODCAST, 2024)

"Calloused" (in THERE'S NO PLACE, Renaissance Press, 2023)

"Children of Earth" (FANTASY MAGAZINE, 2023/PULPHOUSE, 2024 reprint)

"Castoffs" in IT WAS ONLY A DREAM: AN ANTHOLOGY OF BAD HORROR TROPES DONE RIGHT (Hungry Shadows Press, 2022):

"On the Edge" (THE FAIRYTALE MAGAZINE, 2019/FROZEN WAVELETS, 2020 reprint)

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Speaking InformationI'm a confident (funny) and engaging speaker with experience in a variety of settings (from one-on-one coaching, small workshops, summer camps and term-length + read more workshops to masterclasses, festivals, conferences, and large-group/auditorium venues, both in Canada and abroad).

I'm best with upper-elementary, middle school/jr high, and teen through to adult audiences. Willing to travel, schedule permitting, and happy to work with organizers to create a custom presentation, workshop, masterclass, author-in-residence project, etc. based on the themes and needs of your event. I prefer to offer dynamic, flexible/topical presentations or workshops with direct audience engagement where possible (vs. a static reading or "book talk"), but large-group presentations with or without display graphics are also available.

Notes:
-I often incorporate BC/Canadian books into workshops/presentations for kids especially when presenting to audiences younger than I write for
-short fiction is great for middle/secondary groups—it's not only more accessible, it's weirder than most novels! Happy to champion that cause anytime :)

My most popular presentations are:

-Monster Feast/Writing the senses: descriptive (sensory) writing topic best for classroom or small group workshops with a craft, can be spun out into a mini-series involving writing all five senses!

-Interactive Storytelling/Story-building Improv: fun-&-funny mid to large group performance-based presentation where we build a story via audience input (on whiteboard/flipchart sketches/notes) while picking up story structure along the way.

Learn more (additional presentation/workshop inspo, logistic, fee structure, science fiction/fantasy/horror offerings, etc.!) at https://kaie.space/bookings.html 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

Testimonials"Kaie 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 + read more dynamic 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:"The Patron Saint of Flatliners"
-Anchor Author/Story, YEAR'S BEST CANADIAN FANTASY & SCIENCE + show more FICTION: VOLUME 3 (Ansible Press, 2025)
-Commonwealth Short Story Prize 2024: Longlist
-Writers of the Future Awards 2023 Q2: Semi-Finalist

"The Tangle (Did Not Kill Kitsault)"
-BRAVE NEW WEIRD: THE BEST NEW WEIRD HORROR VOLUME 3 (Tenebrous Press, 2025): Shortlist

"Joe the Potato Wants to Die"
-Writers of the Future Awards 2024 Q4: Silver Honorable Mention

"A Queen of the Folk Is the Realm"
-Writers of the Future Awards 2024 Q3: Honorable Mention

"Swallow Down the Notes"
-Writers of the Future Awards 2024 Q1: Honorable Mention

"Simone's Stakeouts and the Case of the Speakeasy Arsonist"
-Writers of the Future Awards 2023 Q4: Silver Honorable Mention

"The Pink Slime's Appointment With Destiny"
-Writers of the Future Awards 2023 Q1: Honorable Mention

"Children of Earth"
-Commonwealth Short Story Prize 2023: Longlist
-Writers of the Future Awards 2023 Q1: Honorable Mention

Abbotsford Arts Council 2021 Arty Awards: Literary Arts Award Winner

BLIND THE EYES (Threads of Dreams, 1)
-Whistler Independent Book Awards 2022 Shortlist
-Reader Views 2021-2022 Literary Awards: Bronze in Children's Books Classics (pre-2021 releases)
-Page Turner Awards 2020: Book Spotlight Prize
-Barnes & Noble Press "20 Favorite Indie Books of 2018"
-2018 KWL cover contest, SciFi/Fantasy category shortlist
-NetGalley Most Requested fantasy

"Calloused"
-Writers of the Future Awards 2022 Q3: Silver Honorable Mention

"Hiding A Pearl"
-First, Law Week Short Story Contest 2004

"Incognito"
-First (Regional) & Second (Overall), "It's Happening Here" FVRL Teen Writing Contest 2004 Show Less