Kae Tempest (pronouns: they/them) started out when they were 16, rapping at strangers on night buses and pestering MCs to let them on the mic at raves. Ten years later they are a published playwright, novelist, poet and respected recording artist. Their work includes "Balance", their first album with band Sound of Rum; "Everything Speaks in its Own Way" their first collection of poems, the critically acclaimed plays "Wasted", "Glasshouse" and "Hopelessly Devoted". "Brand New Ancients", their self-performed epic poem to a live score, won the Ted Hughes Award 2012 and the Herald Angel at Edinburgh Fringe. It has sold out tours in the UK and New York and is published by Picador. Their second collection of poetry, "Hold Your Own", was published by Picador on October 2014. Their debut novel, "The Bricks That Built The Houses", sold in a highly competitive auction to Bloomsbury and was published in territories including the UK, US, France, Holland and Brazil in Spring 2015.