Kelly Barnhill

Kelly Barnhill grew up in Minneapolis and studied creative writing at St. Catherine University in St. Paul, Minnesota. She has held a variety of jobs throughout her life, including janitor, park ranger, bartender, and a middle and high school teacher. Her husband, Ted Barnhill, is an architect who designs sustainable houses, and the two have three children. Barnhill began writing short stories after the birth of her second child, and since then has had her stories published in a variety of collections and magazines. She’s also written a number of children’s novels and a series of nonfiction reference books for children, including Sewers and the Rats that Love Them and The Bloody Book of Blood. Her work has received numerous prizes; The Girl Who Drank the Moon won the 2017 Newbery Medal. Barnhill still lives in Minnesota, where she teaches writing to adults and children.