Who are you and what do you want?

I'm Kate Fitzgerald, a writer and academic. Last I checked. I have the student debt to prove it, at least. My areas of interest include:

  • Mental health, neurodivergent coding and disability representation in popular culture
  • Folk Horror, the Gothic and religious horror
  • Neurodivergence and the creative practice
  • Neurodivergence and trauma
  • The work of Shirley Jackson
  • History of vampires, witchcraft, paganism and the occult in cinema
  • European genre cinema of the 1970s and 80s
  • Puppetry and practical effects in cinema
  • Anthropomorphism. I think about that a lot.

Expect personal essays on all of the above and more. If you prefer objectivity and detachment over introspection, this may not be the place for you. I try to post a piece every few months; they tend to be quite lengthy, so it varies.

I'm autistic. I have ADHD. Late diagnosed. Somehow muddled through with a doctorate in Creative Writing. I've fallen through several cracks. The intention behind this newsletter is to pull myself out, despite having the self-esteem of a stargazer fish and the social skills of a traumatised pangolin.

I wrote a book. You can find it here.

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Follow me on Bluesky. I'm fun.

Subscription is free—my work – direct to your electronic mailbox. Please and thank you.

Header image: 'Young girl and a goat with golden horns' by Petrus Renier Hubertus Knarren.