Elizabeth Spires

Elizabeth Spires is the author of seven books for young readers, most recently KATE'S LIGHT,

about Kate Walker, the keeper of the Robbins Reef Lighthouse in New York Bay for 33 years.

Her other books for children include, THE MOUSE OF AMHERST, the tale of a poetry-writing mouse

who lives in Emily Dickinson's bedroom, and I HEARD GOD TALKING TO ME: WILLIAM EDMONDSON

AND HIS STONE CARVINGS, about the Nashville outsider artist William Edmondson. She is also the

author of I AM ARACHNE, retellings of Greek and Roman myths, WITH ONE WHITE WING, RIDDLE ROAD,

and THE BIG MEOW.

About KATE'S LIGHT, Spires writes: "I have always loved lighthouses and have visited ones up and

down the East Coast, in Maine and on Cape Cod, on the Chesapeake Bay near where I live, and further

south in the Carolinas and in Key West. Lighthouses are unique, just like people, and I like to imagine the

lives lived on those lighthouses. When I discovered the story of the indomitable Kate Walker, who spent

almost half of her life as the lightkeeper at Robbins Reef, I knew it was a story I wanted to tell."

Spires has also written seven poetry collections for adults, including A MEMORY OF THE FUTURE,

a New York Times Best Book of Poetry in 2018. Her poems have appeared in The New Yorker,

The Atlantic, The New York Times, and many magazines and anthologies. She lives in Baltimore,

Maryland and spends summers in Maine where she likes to kayak. Other favorite places are

New York City, Key West, and Maryland's Eastern shore.