Catherine McNamara grew up in Sydney, ran away to Paris to write, and ended up in West Africa co-running a bar. She was an embassy secretary in pre-war Mogadishu, and has worked as an au pair, graphic designer, art gallery manager, teacher, translator and shoe model. She has lived in Veneto for 20 years.

The Carnal Fugues was published by Puncher & Wattmann (Australia) in October 2023 and was shortlisted for the prestigious Prime Minister’s Literary Awards 2024. The short fiction collection was presented at the Australian Short Story Festival, and received glowing reviews in The Sydney Morning Herald and the Australian Book Review. In November 2025 Puncher & Wattmann will be publishing Flesh Songs, named as ‘most anticipated read’ in the Weekend Australian. Two of the stories appear in the Best Small Fictions series (U.S.A., 2024 & 2022) and others have been published in the U.K., U.S.A., Australia, New Zealand and Nigeria.

Her flash/short fiction collection Love Stories for Hectic People came out in March 2021 with Reflex Press (U.K.) and won Best Short Collection category for the Saboteur Awards 2021 (U.K.).

Praised by Hilary Mantel, Catherine’s short story collection The Cartography of Others (May 2018, Unbound U.K.) was a Finalist in the People’s Book Prize 2019-20, was awarded Grand Prize in the Eyelands International Book Awards (Greece) and listed on the Literary Sofa’s Best of 2018 Reads.

Her book Pelt and Other Stories (2013, Indigo Dreams U.K.) was long-listed for the Frank O’Connor Award and semi-finalist in the Hudson Prize (U.S.A.). Catherine’s short stories and flash fiction have been Pushcart-nominated and published widely in the U.K., Europe, U.S.A. and Australia.

Catherine lives between Venice and her African art-filled farmhouse, where she hosts summer retreats for writers. She is a writing mentor and coach who loves hiking, classical piano and wandering in Venice.