Author photo by Susan Brown.
Journalists: try the press page.
Read About Kelly’s Chickens here!
Kelly Jones
is a curious person, interested in chickens, magic, farm life, spies, sewing, the odd everyday bits of history, how to make sauerkraut, how to walk goats, superheroes and what makes them so super, recipes to make with a lot of eggs, anything with ghosts (particularly friendly ghosts), how to draw chickens that actually look like chickens, and any story she’s never heard before.
It’s a good thing she is not a cat.
She’s also a writer:
Her debut novel, Unusual Chickens for the Exceptional Poultry Farmer, about twelve-year-old Sophie and her magical chickens, was published by Knopf Books For Young Readers.
Her second novel, Murder, Magic, and What We Wore, is set in 1818, England, about sixteen-year-old Annis, who would like to become a spy like her father and who does not see why the War Office should put up such a fuss (with bonus magical dressmaking!) was published by Knopf Books For Young Readers on September 19, 2017.
Her third novel, Are You Ready to Hatch an Unusual Chicken?, is the sequel to Unusual Chickens for the Exceptional Poultry Farmer, and continues Sophie’s adventures with even more magical chickens. It was published by Knopf Books For Young Readers on November 6, 2018.
Her fourth novel, Sauerkraut, is about twelve-year-old HD, a maker who wants to build his own computer. But when he meets the ghost of his great-great-grandmother, it turns out she’s got a project for him as well… It was published by Knopf Books For Young Readers September 10, 2019.
And her fifth novel, Happily for Now, is about Fiona, who’s taking fairy godperson lessons so she can learn how to help people. Turns out, it’s trickier than she thought. It was published by Knopf Books For Young Readers May 4th, 2021.
Kelly is represented by Mandy Hubbard at Emerald City Literary Agency.
Questions? Contact her at kj at curiosityjones dot net (be aware it sometimes takes her a long time to write back!)
Frequently Asked Questions:
Looking for information for a school project? Here are the answers to some commonly asked questions:
You can see honors and reviews for each of my books by clicking on them here.
I have a Bachelor of Arts degree in English and Anthropology, and a Master’s of Library and Information Science degree, both from the University of Washington.
I was born on February 27, 1976.
Curious about Kelly’s heritage?
Kelly is a white writer of Irish/Scottish/Welsh-American heritage. “Kelly” is a Gaelic name from her mother’s family; it means “warrior”. “Jones” is a very common Welsh name, and comes from her father’s family.
When she writes about people who don’t share her heritage, culture, or life experiences, Kelly uses resources like Writing the Other: A Practical Approach by Nisi Shawl and Cynthia Ward, and hires cultural consultants for assistance. Writing well means doing the research, putting yourself in your character’s shoes but also learning about experiences they might have had that you haven’t, and checking the assumptions your own brain makes with what experts tell you has been true for them. It also means listening to and valuing others’ experiences. A million, bazillion thanks to everyone who’s helped Kelly make her stories better!
Wondering how to pronounce Kelly’s name? Teaching Books can help!
Her super-secret alter ego (and other job) is Wraptillion.
But (disambiguation alert!) she is not:
Kelly Jones who wrote Lost and Found in Prague and other art history novels
Kelly Jones of the Stereophonics
Kelley Jones who draws amazing comics