In My Skin : A Memoir

* Shortlisted, Dobbie Literary Award for a First Published Book
* Shortlisted, Australian Newcomer of the Year, Australian Book Industry Awards

I made money I'd never imagined and I wore velvet dresses and shone in lamplight. I walked tall in crowds, knowing myself to be desired. I told people I was a prostitute, and smiled as I said it, and dared them to turn their gaze...The smile that I give when I talk about it now is, I can feel, nostalgic, provocative. A brightness comes into my eyes. And, I'm told, a hard look too.

In My Skin describes an extraordinary journey through an often hidden world of heroin and prostitution. Kate's story is one of survival and resourcefulness, and an unflinching look at the consequences of addiction. More than just a fearless and compelling narrative, In My Skin is the triumphant announcement of a new talent in Australian writing.

Praise for In My Skin:

'Searing intellectual and emotional honesty.' — Independent on Sunday

'Brave, explicit and extremely well written.' — Australian Book Review

'Quite simply in a class of its own. In My Skin is the work of a stunningly talented writer who both graces and surpasses her material, subverting popular assumptions about addiction and prostitution while making the extraordinary seem commonplace and the ordinary deeply alluring...It makes for discomfiting, illuminating reading.' — Guardian

'Kate Holden reveals herself to be a new talent in Australian writing.' — Sunday Telegraph

Kate Holden completed an honours degree in classics and literature at the University of Melbourne and a graduate diploma in professional writing and editing, in which she won the Judy Duffy Award for literary excellence. The bestselling In My Skin is her first book. It was published to critical acclaim and has sold to nine countries.