Elizabeth Colina Katayama (nee McDonald; 9 October 1912 – 4 September 1998) was an Australian writer known by the pseudonym Elizabeth Kata, best known for Be Ready with Bells and Drums (1961), made into the award-winning film A Patch of Blue (1965).

During the last years of World War II, she was interned at the mountain resort village of Karuizawa, Nagano.

She returned to Australia in 1947 with her baby son David, battling the Australian government for permission.

Her first novel, Be Ready with Bells and Drums (written in 1959, first published in 1961), was produced as the film A Patch of Blue (1965).

[2] Guy Green, who directed, adapted Kata's book and his screenplay was nominated for a Writers Guild of America award.