Kathleen Jennings (illustrator)

Jennings was born in Brisbane in 26 May 1980.^[1] She has at least one sibling, a sister.^[2] Jennings grew up on a cattle station in Western Queensland. Due to the station's remote location, Jennings completed much of her education through distance learning before attending a boarding school in Toowoomba for two years.^[1]

She later studied at the University of Queensland, from which she received a Bachelor of Arts^[1] and Master of Philosophy in English literature,^[3] as well as a Doctor of Philosophy in creative writing.^[4] Jennings's dissertation work was later adapted into her 2025 novel, Honeyeater.^[5] As of 2026, she is in the Postgraduate Research Creative Writing Program at the University of Queensland.^[6]

Jennings started her career as a lawyer, working in private practice and for the government for five years each. She then transferred to focusing on writing and illustration.^[1]

Jennings began her career in literature through book illustrations and cover art. She has worked with several notable authors, including Catherynne M. Valente (To Spin a Darker Stair, 2012; The Bread We Eat in Dreams, 2013),^[7] Angela Slatter (The Bitterwood Bible and Other Recountings, 2014; The Tallow-Wife, 2021),^[8][9][10] Jane Yolen (Finding Baby Yaga, 2018),^[11] Margo Lanagan (Stray Bats, 2019),^[12] Cassandra Clare (Chain of Iron, 2021),^[13] and Holly Black (The Prisoner's Throne, 2024).^[14] Her work as a cover artist and illustrator has gained her multiple award wins and nominations. Every year from 2012 to 2016, she won the Ditmar Award for Best Fan Artist.^[15] In 2020, she won the World Fantasy Award for Best Artist.^[16][17]

Jennings's written works include chapbooks, novellas, short stories, a short story collection, and a novel. Jennings published the novella Flyaway with Pan Macmillan in 2020. The work was well received by critics, with reviews published in BookPage,^[18] Literary Hub,^[19] Locus,^[20] and Reactor,^[21] among other venues. The novella won the 2021 Ditmar Award for Best Novella or Novelette,^[22] and was a finalist for the 2020 Australasian Shadows Award for Novel,^[23] as well as the 2021 Crawford Award and World Fantasy Award for Best Novella.^[24][25] Jennings published her debut short story collection, Kindling, with Small Beer Press in 2024.^[26][27] The collection includes short stories previously published in other venues. Kindling was a finalist for several awards for best collection, including an Aurealis Award,^[28] Ditmar Award,^[29] Locus Award,^[30] and World Fantasy Award.^[31][32] In 2025, Jennings published her first full-length novel, Honeyeater, with Pan Macmillan.^[33][34] The novel was a finalist for the 2025 Aurealis Award for Best Fantasy Novel.^[35]