Kate Simpson Hayes

Kate Simpson Hayes (née, Hayes; after first marriage, Simpson; after separation, Hayes; pen names, Mary Markwell, Elaine, Marka Wohl, Yukon Bill; 6 July 1856 – 15 January 1945) was a Canadian playwright, author, journalist, and poet from New Brunswick. As the first woman journalist in Western Canada, she wrote for the Free Press and the Regina Leader using a variety of pen names, including "Mary Markwell". She was a founding member of the Canadian Women's Press Club and the author of works such as Prairie pot-pourri. Hayes also worked in Britain for a time encouraging other women to emigrate to Canada.

Hayes also worked for the Canadian Pacific Railway, promoting the emigration of woman domestics from Britain. She was a charter member of the Canadian Women's Press Club, and club president in 1906. Hayes continued to write until well into her seventies.