Kate Katcher

KateKatcher@gmail.com

Kate Katcher

36, theNovel

“36” resonates with emotional truth as it explores complex family dynamics including autonomy, spiri

A long time coming

Once upon a time, I wrote a play, 36. That play won the Dorothy Silver Playwriting Contest in its first draft. It was developed over years of professional readings, acceptance as my Thesis for a Master's Degree in Creative and Professional Writing, all the while garnering praise and fans. Fast forward to a panel of literary agents who had no interest in speaking to a playwright. BUT, "If you have a novel..."

Back to the drawing board, to mining the characters, the story, the people and places in my life that inspired me in the first place, taking a ninety-minute play that takes place within three weeks in 1984 to a family saga that spans three generations and almost the entire 20th century.

I am thrilled to share with you 36, the Novel.

Let me be clear: this is a work of fiction. But it is rooted in the people and places I knew and loved. Like I always say, you can take the girl out of Brooklyn but you can't take Brooklyn out of the girl.

Below are some pictures of people whose stories inspired me. Enjoy!

Kate Katcher

Inspiration For Sarah

My grandmother, Pauline, the sweetest woman I have ever knowm. Always there with a wise word and the patience to soothe my arm for hours. Seen here with her younger brother, Morris, who emigrated with her from Belorussia in the early 20th Century.

Inspiration for Shepsul and Laser

My grandfather, Benny (Left), seen here with his cousin. The only two members of his family to survive the Holocaust, having left when it was only the Bolshevics they feared.

Inspiration for Chanah

My great grandmother, mother of Benny.

Inspiration for Malka

My great grandmother, mother of Pauline.

Praise for 36

Anthony D’Aries, author of The Language of Men

Briana Una McGuckin, author of ON GOOD AUTHORITY

Anthony D’Aries, author of The Language of Men

Kate Katcher’s debut novel is a wild ride through one family’s complex and layered history. In prose that is at times lyrical, heartbreaking, and hilarious, Katcher transports readers to 1980s Brooklyn, where we meet the Weiss Family, a cast of characters who are somehow fiercely independent and disturbingly intertwined. 36 unfolds like a legend, a spiritual origin story we may have dreamt or perhaps already lived.

Jane K. Cleland, Agatha Award-winning author

Briana Una McGuckin, author of ON GOOD AUTHORITY

Anthony D’Aries, author of The Language of Men

“36” resonates with emotional truth as it explores complex family dynamics including autonomy, spirituality, and ancestor worship. Insightful, wryly funny, thought-provoking. A winner!

Briana Una McGuckin, author of ON GOOD AUTHORITY

Kate Katcher writes family exactly like it is: sharp of tongue and endearing in its chaos. 36 reaches back through a family's history to see what obligation has to do with love... and to examine what we really mean when we talk about someone with a disability.

John Roche, Author, author of Bronx Bound

Briana Una McGuckin, author of ON GOOD AUTHORITY

Hear what others have to say about working with Kate Katcher . Check out some of the great reviews and feedback from directors, producers, and fellow actors.

Henry Levin for Austin Macauley

John Roche, Author, author of Bronx Bound

Henry Levin for Austin Macauley

“…each member of the Weiss family is at once flawed and marked by the divine, reminiscent of Salinger’s Glass family. The drama of this work rises to an unexpected fever pitch, transcending the reader’s expectations with an elegant chaos.”