Testimonials
“Kate is a whisperer—of craft, plot, and mishigas. You can blather on and almost instantly she grasps what you’re actually trying to say and do. Or you can give her your pages and she can identify—structurally, thematically, psychoemotionally—how to bring it all into view. One of the very best readers and editors I’ve ever had the fortune to know.”
— Anna Solomon, author of The Book of V & Leaving Lucy Pear
“It's no exaggeration to call Kate my manuscript's fairy godmother -- her guidance through the querying process not only gave me the confidence, clarity, and tact needed to land my dream agent, but she provided an invaluable sense of safety, care and camaraderie in an otherwise lonely and terrifying process. Whether it's a developmental edit, a query letter review, or first chapter polish, I cannot recommend her services enough.”
— Dan Robert, TV writer & producer (Nine Perfect Strangers, The Baby-Sitters Club) and a debut novel coming soon!
“Kate is a wilderness guide to your mind. Like a divining rod, her ability to suss, sense and listen deeply for the work churning beneath what you have written, is game changing. Her conviction that story is most powerful when connected its author’s unique and personal compass, her skill and power as a writer herself, her intuitive, thoughtful, rigorous and joyful leadership all align in ways that light the room. It is simply impossible not to grow with Kate. She makes it too much fun.”
- Samantha Soule, screenwriter, actor, & director with a novel in the works.
“As a Center for Fiction Fellow, I was paired by then–Director of Programming Randy Winston with Kate, whose close reading clarified my novel’s structure and revealed its emotional center: family. She is what every writer hopes for, a reader who reads like a writer. My manuscript would not be where it is without her and I just submitted it to my agent with her guidance woven throughout.”
- JP Infante, author of On the Tip of Your Mother’s Tongue & Aquí y Allá: Winston Vargas Photographs the Dominican Community in Washington Heights
“Working with Kate Milliken was one of those rare experiences where craft guidance and advice don't just improve a manuscript. She changed the way I approach storytelling altogether. When we worked together during my time as an Emerging Voices Fellow at the Center for Fiction, her feedback on my ficitional work centered on clarity, trust, and restraint: write plainly, let the reader do some work, avoid ornamental overreach, and build scenes that carry their own emotional weight.
That counsel didn't just stay with me. It necessarily haunted me and bled into my nonfiction.
Although my most recent book, Black Moses is nonfiction, the book and its success are the outcome of Kate's brilliant advising. Kate helped me see how cinematic storytelling and historical rigor need not be in tension. They can produce harmony. Her guidance pushed me to strip away anything that felt showy or overly explanatory and instead trust scene, character, and pacing. But to also trust the reader. The result was a narrative that moves with intention and clarity without compromising the truth of the history. Kate offers writers something invaluable: a space that is safe yet exacting, compassionate yet unsparing. Working with her is not solely an exercise in editing and revising pages. It is an exercise in becoming strengthened as a storyteller.”
— Caleb Gayle, author of Black Moses, longlisted for the National Book Award
“Kate reinvigorated my writing process, which had been flagging, and brought fresh inspiration to a book I've been working on for several years. She brings an exceptionally sharp eye to story and writing craft in a short period of time, revealing what needs work but in a generous and kind way that makes you feel supported. I highly recommend working with her!”
– Jordan Rosenfeld, author of 8 books, a freelance journalist and editor. Her latest book is How to Write a Page Turner
“Kate’s instinct for identifying plot problems is nothing short of miraculous. Give her a tangled mess, and she’ll find the thread — spotting connections and helping weave your ideas into a beautiful and airtight story. She helped me create a narrative that worked, with real, multifaceted characters. I can say with total confidence that Middlehood is a far stronger screenplay because of Kate’s insight and guidance.”
— Ali McGrath, screenwriter, “Middlehood,” a Semi-finalist at the Austin Film Festival & the Page Screenwriting Awards
"Kate approaches her courses with invaluable personal experience, unwavering passion, and a genuine dedication to safe, respectful, and caring environments to an extent I've never experienced in any other workshop. Kate is one of those rare instructors who impacts your writing for the rest of your career, which, for me, unearthed a passion and zeal for writing I had been convinced was lost forever."
— Robert Del Mauro, fiction workshop student
“Kate is my ideal reader—insightful, precise, inspiring. She asks the questions that get a piece to its deeper meanings. And Kate looks at sentences and structure, she’s detailed in the best ways, and she loves working with writers!”
— Kelly Sather, author of Small in Real Life, Winner of the Drue Heinz Literature Prize