Kate Heartfield

1 universe Last reviewed 2026-09-05

Kate Heartfield was born in 1977 in Kitchener, Ontario, and grew up in Winnipeg. She earned a degree in political science from the University of Ottawa and a master's degree in journalism from Carleton University. From 2004 to 2015, Heartfield worked at the Ottawa Citizen, serving on the editorial board and as a columnist before becoming editorial pages editor from 2013 to 2015; she received a nomination for Canada's National Newspaper Award in Editorial Writing in 2015. She now teaches journalism at Carleton University and creative writing online through The Loft Literary Center, alongside her fiction career. Heartfield's debut novel, Armed in Her Fashion (2018), a historical fantasy set during a demonic invasion of medieval Flanders, won the 2019 Aurora Award for Best Novel, Canada's top honor in speculative fiction, and ranked eighth in the 2019 Locus Award for Best First Novel. She is also known for the time-travel novellas Alice Payne Arrives (2018) and Alice Payne Rides (2019), which earned Nebula and Aurora Award nominations, and for the historical fantasy novel The Embroidered Book (2022), which reimagines the lives of Marie Antoinette and her sister through the lens of hidden magic. Heartfield has additionally written tie-in fiction for the Assassin's Creed franchise, beginning with The Magus Conspiracy (2022). An active member of the speculative fiction community, she belongs to the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America and regularly serves on award juries, reflecting her dual career as both a practicing journalist and an award-winning novelist.

Universe(s)

Books

• Armed in Her Fashion (2018) · Armed in Her Fashion Core Canon

Aggregate across all universes

• Total Core Canon books across all universes: 1 book
• Award recognitions across all universes: 3 (1 won, 1 finalist mention, 1 nomination)

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