This is a page where Katharine has collected together some of the journalism she has done looking at the issue of adoption since she was in her twenties. Katharine was adopted as a baby, with her Iranian birth father reluctantly relinquishing her as he was not permitted to take her back to Iran. Her British birth mother chose to relinquish her to a family in England and Katharine grew up in Lancashire, Leicestershire before the family arrived in Norfolk where she lived until she was 18. Katharine then lived in Germany, Cambridge, Birmingham and Manchester, before settling in London – although she still visits Norfolk and its watery landscape often.
Katharine has written and broadcast about many aspects of adoption since she became a journalist. Her film on her own journey to find her birth father, for the BBC, can be viewed below. It also covers the stories of other women left behind by Iranian birth fathers.
Katharine also wrote the e-book, Blood and Water, looking at some of the longer term impacts of adoption on identity. You can listen to it on Audible here.
For more on the search for an Iranian identity, read Katharine’s feature for Prospect magazine here or for more on the complications of adoption – and how adoptees like Katharine are represented in literature, this article she wrote for the Royal Literary Fund unpacks some of the tropes.
In 2026 Katharine was one of the winners of the Tenacious Journalism award 2026 for her ongoing work on the health impacts of adoption, in a healthcare system that does not accommodate the needs of those who do not have (or only have a limited) biological family history. The journalism on that is ongoing, but head over to her post on the survey here and keep updated by checking out Katharine here or on Substack.
In the meantime, have a read of some of the journalism Katharine has already done on this key topic for adoptees, by reading her two articles for The Lead here, her article on healthcare for The Daily Mail, with thanks to fellow adoptee, Rebecca Bowyer, for sharing her story, and her interview for BBC Radio 4’s Woman’s Hour on the topic. Thanks to the organisations and individuals Katharine has worked with, including the Adult Adoptee Movement, How to be Adopted, the Movement for an Adoption Apology, Coram Family, PAC-UK, Adoption UK and others, for their support.
Katharine Quarmby 