Katherine Reilly

Katherine Reilly is a British author of both young adult and adult fiction. She is best known for her sports romance novels, Match Point (2024) and Ride the Wave (2025). Her works have been published internationally. Writing under the name Katy Birchall, she penned The Secret Bridesmaid, while her YA fiction is published under the name Ivy Bailey.

Katherine Reilly lives in London with her family and a rescue dog. She worked at Wimbledon for five consecutive summers, an experience which later inspired the setting of her debut sports romance novel. “I can honestly say there is no place like it,” she said. 'The atmosphere is incredible… the sudden eruption of cheers when someone wins on Centre Court or Court One reverberates around the whole place.'

She began her writing career under the name Katy Birchall, publishing romantic comedies and YA novels. In later years, she developed separate pseudonyms for different genres. As Ivy Bailey, she writes for a younger audience. As Katherine Reilly, she focuses on adult romance, particularly stories set in the world of sport.

Match Point (2024), her first novel written under the name Katherine Reilly, is set during the Wimbledon Championships. It centres on a romance between a rising tennis star and a woman connected to the event. Reilly explains that she chose tennis because “it's the sport I know best”.

Her second novel, Ride the Wave (2025), follows the story of Leo, a former surfing champion, and Iris, a travel writer. The idea came from her research into the surfing world. "You can't plan what happens out there in the water," said Reilly. "Ultimately, you have to go on gut instinct — a little bit like love itself, I think."

Katherine Reilly credits her editor with encouraging her to explore the sports romance genre. “I owe her a lot because I have the most outrageous fun plotting these books,” she said.

Photo credit: Ben Moseley