About the Author

Kathleen Jennings is a writer and illustrator in Brisbane, Australia. She was raised on fairy tales on a cattle station in Western Queensland, and practiced as a translator and a lawyer (which is all stories, isn't it?) before returning to undertake a Master of Philosophy in Creative Writing (Australian Gothic Literature) at the University of Queensland. Her short stories have appeared on Tor.com, in Lady Churchill's Rosebud Wristlet, in anthologies from Candlewick, Ticonderoga and Fablecroft Publishing, and elsewhere. Flyaway is her first novel. As an illustrator, she has been shortlisted for one Hugo and three World Fantasy Awards, and has won several Ditmars.

Reviews

A superbly told tale of folklore-infused fantasy, full of rising dread, set in a sharply observed Australian outback town.--Garth Nix In spellbinding, lyrical prose Jennings lulls readers into this rich, dreamlike world. Lovers of contemporary fairy tales will find this a masterful work.--Publishers Weekly, starred review A fairytale wrapped about in riddles and other thorny bits of enchantments and stories, but none of them quite like any you've heard before. Kathleen Jennings' prose dazzles, and her magic feels real enough that you might even prick your finger on it.--Kelly Link Half mystery, half fairy tale, all exquisitely rendered and full of teeth."--Holly Black Achingly gorgeous. . . . As tangled and densely interwoven as a tuft of dusty fur snagged on a barbed wire fence, Jennings' debut novella is both deeply indebted to the Australian gothic tradition and vibrantly, bewitchingly itself. A dark, delicious shrike's feast of a fairy tale.--Brooke Bolander Brilliant light washes through these pages, a perfect foil for the novella's shadowy, all-too-serious battles of class, community and family. Sly visitations from imported, half-naturalised folklore add further layers of mystery and wonder to a more-than-magical tale of history's grip, the land's memory, and the harm we cannot help but do to ourselves and each other.--Margo Lanagan A darkly enchanting and unexpected tale. A gothic Alice in Wonderland meets Picnic at Hanging Rock. With Flyaway Jennings takes old threads and weaves them into something new and exciting.--Angela Slatter I feel as if a very new voice has whispered a very old secret in my ear, and I'll never be able to un-hear it. Nor will I ever want to.--C. S. E. Cooney Shirley Jackson Down Under: a brooding, bruising fairy tale about blood and history and sharp-toothed things waiting in the woods. I loved it.--Alix E. Harrow An exquisite gem of a book, a story which hoards its secrets and reveals its answers slowly, patiently, rewarding the reader who's willing to go on a strange and haunting journey. . . . Subtly sinister and utterly, utterly magical.--Grimdark Magazine