Kate Buckley, a ninth-generation Kentuckian, was educated at Transylvania University in Lexington, Kentucky, and the University of Kentucky. She holds an MFA in Writing from Spalding University, and has served as the Executive Vice President of Castello Cities Internet Network (CCIN) since 1998.

Kate's poems have appeared in variety of journals including: Bellingham Review, The Cafe Review, The Heartland Review, New Southerner, North American Review, Shenandoah, Slipstream and Spillway, and in a number of anthologies. She's the author of A Wild Region (Moon Tide Press, 2008) and Follow Me Down (Tebot Bach, 2009).

Honors & awards include: 2007 Gabehart Prize for Imaginative Writing for poetry, the 2008 North American Review's James Hearst Poetry Prize, selected by Molly Peacock, the 2008 Joy Bale Boone Poetry Prize (2nd place & finalist), the 2008 Bellingham Review's The 49th Parallel Award in Poetry (Runner Up), the 2008 New Southerner Literary Contest (finalist), the 2008 Atlanta Review's International Poetry Competition (finalist), and the 2008 Ruskin Poetry Award from Red Hen Press (shortlisted). Kate is also a three-time Pushcart Prize nominee.

Kate has served as co-facilitator of Laguna Poets, founder of Women Poets of Laguna, and conducts workshops in and around Laguna Beach, including workshops for the Orange County Writers Group. She is also available for one-on-one poetry mentoring. Kate has volunteered extensively, including working with young readers at the Laguna Beach Boys and Girls Club. She served as poet of occasion at the 2009 Laguna Beach Presidential Inaugural Gala and judge for the annual Laguna Beach Library Poetry Contest.

She is also an accomplished artist whose paintings have been published in journals such as The Adirondack Review and New Southerner, and purchased by such entities as The American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (Board of Directors Invitation, 2005), as well as privately collected. Her paintings are available for purchase; she occasionally accepts commissions. She lives in a cottage by the sea in Laguna Beach with her dog, Murphy.