Jenn Bennett is an American author of novels for teens and adults. Her notable works include ''Alex, Approximately'', ''Starry Eyes'', and ''The Anatomical Shape of a Heart'' (aka ''Night Owls''). Her books have received critical acclaim and award recognition.

Personal life

Bennett was born in Germany. She has a

Bachelor of Fine Arts A Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) is a standard undergraduate degree for students for pursuing a professional education in the visual, fine or performing arts. It is also called Bachelor of Visual Arts (BVA) in some cases. Background The Bachelor ...

in Painting and worked on her master's degree at

Louisiana State University Louisiana State University (officially Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, commonly referred to as LSU) is a public land-grant research university in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The university was founded in 1860 nea ...

. Due to her father's service in the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...

, she grew up as a

military brat A military brat (colloquial or military slang) is a child of serving or retired military personnel. Military brats are associated with a unique subcultureDavid C. Pollock, Ruth E. van Reken. ''Third Culture Kids: Growing Up Among Worlds'', Revise ...

, moving to a number of places and traveling extensively in Europe and the Far East. She currently resides in

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...

with her husband.

Publishing career

Arcadia Bell series

Bennett's debut novel, ''Kindling the Moon'' released from

Pocket Books Pocket Books is a division of Simon & Schuster that primarily publishes paperback books. History Pocket Books produced the first mass-market, pocket-sized paperback books in the United States in early 1939 and revolutionized the publishing in ...

in July 2011, and is the first book in the Arcadia Bell series. The final book in the series, ''Banishing the Dark'', was published in 2015; it was nominated for a "Reviewers' Choice Book Award.

Roaring Twenties series

In 2013,

Berkley Books Berkley Books is an imprint of the Penguin Group. History Berkley Books began as an independent company in 1955. It was founded as "Chic News Company" by Charles Byrne and Frederick Klein, who had worked for Avon; they quickly renamed it Berk ...

published the first book in Bennett's new historical

paranormal romance Paranormal romance is a subgenre of both romantic fiction and speculative fiction. Paranormal romance focuses on romantic love and includes elements beyond the range of scientific explanation, blending together themes from the speculative fiction ...

series, ''Bitter Spirits'', taking place in a haunted 1920s San Francisco. It garnered starred reviews from both

Publishers Weekly ''Publishers Weekly'' (''PW'') is an American weekly trade news magazine targeted at publishers, librarians, booksellers, and literary agents. Published continuously since 1872, it has carried the tagline, "The International News Magazine of B ...

and

Booklist ''Booklist'' is a publication of the American Library Association that provides critical reviews of books and audiovisual materials for all ages. ''Booklist''s primary audience consists of libraries, educators, and booksellers. The magazine is av ...

and was one of six romances published in 2014 to be named on Publishers Weekly's Best Books of 2014. The final book in the series, ''Grave Phantoms'', was awarded

RT Book Reviews ''Romantic Times'' was an American genre magazine specializing in romance novel A romance novel or romantic novel generally refers to a type of genre fiction novel which places its primary focus on the relationship and romantic love between ...

' Seal of Excellence.

Young Adult fiction

In 2015,

Macmillan Publishers Macmillan Publishers (occasionally known as the Macmillan Group; formally Macmillan Publishers Ltd and Macmillan Publishing Group, LLC) is a British publishing company traditionally considered to be one of the 'Big Five' English language publi ...

published Bennett's debut young adult contemporary book, ''The Anatomical Shape of a Heart'', a romance between two aspiring teen artists. Titled ''Night Owls'' internationally, foreign rights for the book were also acquired by

Simon & Schuster Simon & Schuster () is an American publishing company and a subsidiary of Paramount Global. It was founded in New York City on January 2, 1924 by Richard L. Simon and M. Lincoln Schuster. As of 2016, Simon & Schuster was the third largest publ ...

UK, and it was translated into five languages It won a 2015 Reviewers' Choice Award for YA Protagonist from

and the 2016 RITA Award for Young Adult Romance. In 2017,

Simon and Schuster Simon & Schuster () is an American publishing company and a subsidiary of Paramount Global. It was founded in New York City on January 2, 1924 by Richard L. Simon and M. Lincoln Schuster. As of 2016, Simon & Schuster was the third largest publ ...

published her second young adult book, ''Alex, Approximately'', a teen update of

You've Got Mail ''You've Got Mail'' is a 1998 American romantic comedy film directed by Nora Ephron and starring Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan. Inspired by the 1937 Hungarian play '' Parfumerie'' by Miklós László (which had earlier been adapted in 1940 as ''The Shop ...

. It received starred reviews from

Kirkus Reviews ''Kirkus Reviews'' (or ''Kirkus Media'') is an American book review magazine founded in 1933 by Virginia Kirkus (1893–1980). The magazine is headquartered in New York City. ''Kirkus Reviews'' confers the annual Kirkus Prize to authors of fic ...

and

, and it was translated into seven languages. Bennett's third young adult book, ''Starry Eyes'', about two teens who get lost in the California wilderness, was published in 2018 and received a starred review from

and was nominated for a

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Choice Award for Young Adult Fiction. It has been translated into five languages.

Bibliography

Arcadia Bell series

#''Kindling the Moon'' (July 2011, ) #''Summoning the Night'' (April 2012, ) #''Leashing the Tempest'' (December 2012, ) #''Binding the Shadows'' (May 2013, ) #''Banishing the Dark'' (May 2014, )

Roaring Twenties series

#''Bitter Spirits'' (January 2014, ) #''Grim Shadows'' (June 2014, ) #''Grave Phantoms'' (May 2015, )

Young adult books

#''The Anatomical Shape of a Heart'' – UK edition titled Night Owls (November 3, 2015, ) #''Alex, Approximately'' (April 2017, ) #''Starry Eyes'' (April 2018, ) #''Serious Moonlight'' (April 2019, ) #''The Lady Rogue'' (September 2019, ) #''Chasing Lucky'' (May 2020, ) #''Always Jane'' (March 2022, )

References

External links

Author's Website

Listing at Goodreads
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bennett, Jenn Living people 21st-century American novelists American writers of young adult literature American fantasy writers Urban fantasy writers American romantic fiction writers Writers from Atlanta American women novelists Women writers of young adult literature 21st-century American women writers Women romantic fiction writers Women science fiction and fantasy writers Novelists from Georgia (U.S. state) 1978 births