Author-Illustrator Episode #05: Kathleen Jennings

Kathleen Jennings is a British Fantasy Award-winning author of Australian Gothic and folk- and fairy-tale-inspired fiction, and a World Fantasy Award-winning illustrator of fantasy and fairy tales, based in Brisbane. Her debut short story collection Kindling, published by Small Beer Press in 2024, follows her 2020 novel Flyaway and poetry collection Travelogues: Vignettes from Trains in Motion. She is currently undertaking a PhD at the University of Queensland, researching methods of creative observation.

Sarah Davis is a multiple award-winning illustrator, and associate art director for Walker Books Australia. She won the CBCA Crichton Illustration Award for her first picture book, Mending Lucille, in 2009, and since then has gone on to illustrate over 50 titles, in a range of styles and genres.  She has an Honours degree in literature, and her love of language and narrative underpins her illustration work.  With each project she experiments with new ways to construct visual narratives, working across a range of media. Sarah has collaborated with many major publishing houses and commercial clients across Australia, New Zealand, the USA and the UK. An experienced presenter with a teaching background, she regularly speaks at schools, festivals and universities throughout Australia and internationally. Sarah is also proud to be an ambassador for Room to Read.