My Story

I’m Katharine Joy Sowden— a writer, photographer, multidisciplinary artist, creative guide, and quiet builder of gentle things. I live and work in Ontario, Canada, where much of my life is shaped by small towns, libraries, long drives, and the in-between spaces where ideas tend to surface.

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I believe in tenderness as a practice, not just a personality trait. In making space. In slow creativity. In work that feels like a hearth rather than a performance. Through my business "Tenderfolk Books" and "The Writer's Hearth" I hope to create spaces where writing, identity, creativity, and care meet without urgency. My blog is where I share essays, reflections, and offerings for people who are tired of hard edges and loud timelines, but still deeply devoted to making meaningful work.

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My path into this work has been nonlinear. I didn’t arrive here through hustle or a single defining breakthrough, but through lived experience and learning what it means to slow down, to recover tenderness after difficulty, and to rebuild a creative life that could actually be lived inside.