Hi! My name is Katara

Phonetic pronounciation: kah-TAR-ah

Bio

Katara J. Z. is a queer, Chinese adoptee with roots in Sichuan, Nova Scotia, and Colorado. She writes speculative fiction focusing on second world fantasy with heavy themes. Her short fiction has been published in multiple anthologies; one anthology, “Meet Me at Midnight”, won Best Anthology of the Year at Utopia Con 2024.

She is a 2025 VONA alumna, an upcoming Tin House Autumn 2025 participant, and a long-standing member of The Writer’s Sanctuary Red Herrings Society.

Katara uses her engineering degree to fuel too many spreadsheets of plot and lore. If she's not concocting impossible choices with devastating consequences for her characters, she can be found hiking or at brunch enjoying a dairy-free chocolate chai.

Fun Facts

⟡ She grew up spelling words the British way and still prefers it. Tell her “colour” doesn’t look more elegant with a “u”.

⟡ Sie kann Deutsch sprechen und hat ein Jahr lang in Münster, Nordrhein-Westfalen, als Fremdsprachenassistentin gelebt. (She can speak German and lived in Münster, North Rhein-Westphalia for a year as an English teaching assistant.) She was a 2023-2024 Fulbright recipient.

⟡ Still unsure about how to pronounce her name? Have a peak at Avatar: the Last Airbender. Her name is pronounced exactly like the protagonist Katara. She does not confirm or deny if she is a waterbender or not (ATLA).

⟡ She loves travelling! Can you identify where these pictures were taken? (Hint: click on an image to enlarge and reveal the location.)