Kate Simpson

Kate Simpson is an editor, journalist, poet and critic based in York, UK. She is the Associate Editor of Aesthetica Magazine, and has written, designed and edited for over 30 editions of the publication, which has a combined print and digital readrship of 400,000. She has also edited for several other Aesthetica publications including the Aesthetica Art Prize, Creative Writing and BAFTA-Qualifying Short Film Festival programmes and anthologies.

She has programmed major lecture series, including five editions of the Aesthetica Future Now Symposium, and has spoken at numerous events about publishing, journalism and the effects of the digital age on contemporary culture, including Frieze London. She has also judged numerous awards, including, in 2021, the Sony World Photography Awards.

Kate also works across a number of literary projects. She is an 'Editor at Large' for Valley Press, working on new titles including a major anthology of poetry responding to climate change. She is a published author, poet and critic, with creative work published in the likes of The London Magazine, The Poetry Review and The Morning Star, and has judged for literary competitions including Freedom From Torture’s 2020 Resilience Readings Poetry Competition, alongside Inua Ellams, Imtiaz Dharker and Daljit Nagra.