Kathleen Jennings

Kathleen Dolan Jennings (born 1980) is an Australian gothic and fantasy illustrator and author known for her silhouette illustrations and fantastical maps. Jennings is a self-taught artist. As an artist, she won the Ditmar Award for Best Fan Artist annually from 2012 to 2016. She also won the 2020 World Fantasy Award for Best Artist, as well as the 2021 Sydney J. Bounds Award.

Early life and education Jennings was born in Brisbane in 26 May 1980. 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. as well as a Doctor of Philosophy in creative writing. Jennings's dissertation work was later adapted into her 2025 novel, Honeyeater. As of 2026, she is in the Postgraduate Research Creative Writing Program at the University of Queensland.

Career 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. Angela Slatter (The Bitterwood Bible and Other Recountings, 2014; The Tallow-Wife, 2021), Jane Yolen (Finding Baby Yaga, 2018), Margo Lanagan (Stray Bats, 2019), Cassandra Clare (Chain of Iron, 2021), and Holly Black (The Prisoner's Throne, 2024). 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. In 2020, she won the World Fantasy Award for Best Artist. Literary Hub, Locus, and Reactor, among other venues. The novella won the 2021 Ditmar Award for Best Novella or Novelette, and was a finalist for the 2020 Australasian Shadows Award for Novel, as well as the 2021 Crawford Award and World Fantasy Award for Best Novella. Jennings published her debut short story collection, Kindling, with Small Beer Press in 2024. The collection includes short stories previously published in other venues. Kindling was a finalist for several awards for best collection, including an Aurealis Award, Ditmar Award, Locus Award, and World Fantasy Award. In 2025, Jennings published her first full-length novel, Honeyeater, with Pan Macmillan. The novel was a finalist for the 2025 Aurealis Award for Best Fantasy Novel. 2010 Ditmar Award for Best New Talent 2012 Ditmar Award for Best Fan Artist 2012 World Fantasy Award for Best Artist 2013 Ditmar Award for Best Fan Artist 2013 World Fantasy Award for Best Artist 2014 Ditmar Award for Best Fan Artist 2015 Ditmar Award for Best Fan Artist 2016 Ditmar Award for Best Fan Artist 2016 World Fantasy Award for Best Artist 2017 Ditmar Award for Best Fan Artist 2018 Hugo Award for Best Professional Artist 2020 Locus Award for Best Artist 2020 World Fantasy Award for Best Artist 2021 Locus Award for Best Artist 2021 Sydney J. Bounds Award 2026 Locus Award for Best Artist 2026 World Fantasy Award for Best Artist Works Jennings's work has also received praise. Locus has regularly included Jennings's publications on their year-end list of the recommended reading, including "Skull and Hyssop" (2014), for the year's best novellettes, "The Heart of Owl Abbas" (2018) for the year's best short stories, Flyaway (2020) for the year's best novellas, "Merry in Time" (2022) for the year's best novelettes, Kindling (2024) for the year's best collections, and Honeyeater (2025) for the year's best novels. Reactor reviewer Molly Templeton also included Honeyeater on her list of the best publications of 2025.

Publications

As author

As illustrator