Bundanon

Katia Ariel is an author, book editor and educator from Melbourne/Naarm.

She was born in Odesa, Ukraine. She was a recipient of the Varuna Residential fellowship (2022) and the Bundanon Artist’s Residency (2024). Katia has been published in a variety of literary journals, including Womankind, Archer and Antithesis. Her memoir, The Swift Dark Tide, published by Gazebo Books in 2023, chronicles the discovery of queerness later in life, as well as the history of desire and rebellion in her female line. 

In Residence at Bundanon

I am working on a draft of my second book, provisionally titled The Ferryman. It is a biography of an Orthodox Jewish Undertaker, who served as the head of Melbourne’s Jewish Burial Society for thirty years. It deals with themes of grief, community, ancient burial rites and belonging.