Kelly Barnhill is an American author of children's literature, fantasy, and science fiction. Her novel '' The Girl Who Drank the Moon'' was awarded the 2017

Newbery Medal The John Newbery Medal, frequently shortened to the Newbery, is a literary award given by the Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC), a division of the American Library Association (ALA), to the author of "the most distinguished cont ...

. '' Kirkus Reviews'' named '' When Women Were Dragons'' one of the best science fiction and fantasy books of 2022.

Writing career

Barnhill has received writing fellowships from the Jerome Foundation and the Minnesota State Arts Board and was a 2015 McKnight Writing Fellow in Children’s Literature. She is the winner of the Parents Choice Gold Award, the Texas Library Association Bluebonnet award, and a Charlotte Huck Honor. She also was a finalist for the Minnesota Book Award, the Andre Norton Award, and the PEN/USA literary prize. In 2016, her novella ''The Unlicensed Magician'' received the

World Fantasy Award The World Fantasy Awards are a set of awards given each year for the best fantasy fiction published during the previous calendar year. Organized and overseen by the World Fantasy Convention, the awards are given each year at the eponymous ann ...

for Long Fiction. In 2017, her novel '' The Girl Who Drank the Moon'' was awarded the John Newbery Medal by the

American Library Association The American Library Association (ALA) is a nonprofit organization based in the United States that promotes libraries and library education internationally. It is the oldest and largest library association in the world, with 49,727 members ...

. Barnhill's books include ''The Unlicensed Magician'', ''The Witch's Boy'', ''Iron-Hearted Violet'', ''The Mostly True Story of Jack'', as well as several non-fiction titles for children. In February 2019 Kelly was the Literary Guest of Honor and Keynote Speaker at the 37th annual

Life, the Universe, & Everything ''Life, the Universe, & Everything: The Marion K. "Doc" Smith Symposium on Science Fiction and Fantasy'' is an academic conference held annually since 1983 in Provo, Utah. It is the longest-running science fiction and fantasy convention in Utah, ...

professional science fiction and fantasy arts symposium.

Personal life

Barnhill is a graduate of

Minneapolis South High School Minneapolis South High School is a four-year comprehensive public high school located in the Corcoran neighborhood of Minneapolis, Minnesota. A member of the Minneapolis Public Schools district, it is both the oldest and largest public high s ...

in Minneapolis and St. Catherine University in St. Paul. Her husband, Ted Barnhill, is an architect. They have three children. Before finding success as an author, Barnhill studied creative writing as an undergraduate, worked for the National Park Service, and was trained as a volunteer firefighter. She began writing short stories after the birth of her second child, and these stories were eventually expanded into full-length novels. She lives in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

Awards and honors

'' Kirkus Reviews'' named ''When Women Were Dragons'' one of the best science fiction and fantasy books of 2022.

Publications

* ''The Mostly True Story of Jack'' (2011) * ''Iron Hearted Violet'', illustrated by Iacopo Bruno (2012) * ''Mrs. Sorensen and the Sasquatch'' (2014) * ''The Witch's Boy'' (2014) * ''The Unlicensed Magician'' (2015) * '' The Girl Who Drank the Moon'' (2016) * ''Dreadful Young Ladies and Other Stories'' (2018) * '' The Ogress and the Orphans'' (2022) * '' When Women Were Dragons'' (2022) * ''The Crane Husband'' (2023)

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Barnhill, Kelly 1973 births Writers from Minneapolis Living people Newbery Medal winners World Fantasy Award-winning writers 21st-century American novelists American young adult novelists American fantasy writers American science fiction writers American children's writers American women novelists South High School (Minnesota) alumni 21st-century American women writers Novelists from Minnesota American women children's writers Women writers of young adult literature Women science fiction and fantasy writers St. Catherine University alumni