Kate Liston-Mills, writer, artist, and storyteller is based on the Sapphire Coast of New South Wales (Yuin Country). Her work weaves words, sound, and image, exploring the fragile spaces between home, loss, and belonging. In her books like The Waterfowl Are Drunk!, Dear Ibis, and To Heal a Lyrebird, Kate crafts stories that ask: What happens when our sense of place is torn apart, and how do we rebuild?

The Waterfowl Are Drunk! was commissioned by Spineless Wonders as part of the Slinkies Under 30 collection (2015), edited by Bridget Lutherborrow. The e-book was so widely purchased, performed and studied that it was later made into an illustrated chapbook, designed and illustrated by Gert Geyer in 2016. Kate’s second book Dear Ibis (illustrated and designed by Bettina Kaiser, and edited by Jess Magrath) was highly commended by the ACT Literary Awards in 2022 and it continues to be studied and enjoyed by regional audiences. To Heal a Lyrebird (designed and illustrated by Bettina Kaiser and edited by Matilda Gould) is Kate’s first real exploration into writing as an art form. Recently this book won for Fiction in the MARION ACT Literary Awards (2026) and was shortlisted for the Australian Book Design Awards (2026). This new book is part of a larger multidisciplinary arts project called The Lyrebird Project, which challenges the idea of genre and form far beyond the written page. In the project, Kate and the wider Lyrebird team is experimenting with spoken word, soundscapes, theatre, songwriting, fashion and visual art and installation, re-imagining the book as a living, breathing thing despite the digital world it was born out of. As an artist, librarian, and mother, Kate’s work is shaped by the rhythms of everyday life—by creativity, connection, and the search for meaning in the world around her.

This site serves as a place to pause, reflect, and find something that resonates.

To Heal a Lyrebird — the third installment in the trilogy launched Nov, 2025.