# Jenn Bennett > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Jenn_Bennett > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Jenn_Bennett.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jenn_Bennett > Source revision: 1352251189 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) {{short description|American author of novels for young adults}} {{Use mdy dates|date=September 2022}} {{Infobox writer | name = Jenn Bennett | image = | caption = | nationality = American | birth_place = [Frankfurt am Main](/source/Frankfurt_am_Main), Germany | birth_date = {{birth year and age|1978|3}} | death_place = | occupation = Author, novelist | education = [Louisiana State University](/source/Louisiana_State_University) ([BFA](/source/Bachelor_of_Fine_Arts)) | genre = [Young adult fiction](/source/Young_adult_fiction), [Coming of age](/source/Coming_of_age_novel), [Historical romance](/source/Historical_romance) | movement = | notableworks = ''Alex, Approximately''; ''The Anatomical Shape of a Heart'' | years_active = 2011–present | influenced = | awards = {{Awards|award=[RITA award](/source/RITA_award) |year=2016 |title=The Anatomical Shape of a Heart |role= |name=Young Adult Romance}} | website = {{URL|www.jennbennett.net}} }} '''Jenn Bennett''' (born March 1978) 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''). == Personal life == Bennett was born in Germany.{{cite news|last=Simon and Schuster |title=Jenn Bennett Biography |work=authors.simonandschuster.com |date=July 2011 |access-date=June 29, 2013 |url=http://authors.simonandschuster.com/Jenn-Bennett/77827513/biography |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130702085012/http://authors.simonandschuster.com/Jenn-Bennett/77827513/biography |url-status=dead |archive-date=2013-07-02 }} She has a [Bachelor of Fine Arts](/source/Bachelor_of_Fine_Arts) in Painting and worked on her master's degree at [Louisiana State University](/source/Louisiana_State_University).{{cite news |last=Powell's Books |title=About the Author |work=powells.com |date=July 22, 2011 |access-date=June 17, 2018 |url=http://www.powells.com/biblio/2-9781451620528-3}}{{cite news |first=Jenn |last=Bennett |title=JennBennett.net Profile |work=jennbennett.net |access-date=July 1, 2013 |url=http://www.jennbennett.net/about}} Due to her father's service in the [United States Army](/source/United_States_Army), she grew up as a [military brat](/source/military_brat), moving to a number of places and traveling extensively in Europe and the Far East.{{cite news |via=Sci-Fi Fan Letter |title=Debut Author Interview: Jenn Bennett |work=scififanletter.blogspot.com |date=June 7, 2013 |access-date=June 29, 2013 |url=http://scififanletter.blogspot.com/2013/06/author-interview-jenn-bennett.html}} She currently resides in [Atlanta](/source/Atlanta) with her husband.{{cite news |via=RT Book Reviews |title=Debut Author Spotlight: Jenn Bennett |work=rtbookreviews.com |date=July 22, 2011 |access-date=June 29, 2013 |url=http://www.rtbookreviews.com/rt-daily-blog/debut-author-spotlight-jenn-bennett}} == Publishing career == === Arcadia Bell series === Bennett's debut novel, ''Kindling the Moon'' released from [Pocket Books](/source/Pocket_Books) 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.{{cite news |first=Jill |last=Smith |title=''Banishing the Dark'' review |work=rtbookreviews.com |date=April 2014 |access-date=February 20, 2015 |url=http://www.rtbookreviews.com/book-review/banishing-dark}} === Roaring Twenties series === In 2013, [Berkley Books](/source/Berkley_Books) published the first book in Bennett's new historical [paranormal romance](/source/paranormal_romance) series, ''Bitter Spirits'', taking place in a haunted 1920s San Francisco. It garnered starred reviews from both [Publishers Weekly](/source/Publishers_Weekly) and [Booklist](/source/Booklist){{cite news |via= Publishers Weekly |title=Fiction Book Review: Bitter Spirits by Jenn Bennett |work=publishersweekly.com |date=November 11, 2013 |access-date=February 1, 2014 |url=http://www.publishersweekly.com/978-0-425-26957-2}}{{cite news |via= Booklist |title=Bitter Spirits, by Jenn Bennett |work=booklistonline.com |date=January 1, 2014 |access-date=February 1, 2014 |url=http://www.booklistonline.com/Bitter-Spirits-Jenn-Bennett/pid=6454686}} and was one of six romances published in 2014 to be named on Publishers Weekly's Best Books of 2014.{{cite news |via= Publishers Weekly |title=Best Books of 2014 |work=publishersweekly.com |date=November 3, 2014 |access-date=February 20, 2015 |url=http://best-books.publishersweekly.com/pw/best-books/2014}} The final book in the series, ''Grave Phantoms'', was awarded [RT Book Reviews](/source/RT_Book_Reviews)' Seal of Excellence.{{cite news |via= RT Book Reviews |title=May Seal of Excellence |work=rtbookreviews.com |date=May 29, 2014 |access-date=April 18, 2016 |url=http://www.rtbookreviews.com/blog/83869/may-2015-seal-excellence}} === Young Adult fiction === In 2015, [Macmillan Publishers](/source/Macmillan_Publishers) 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](/source/Simon_%26_Schuster) UK, and it was translated into five languages{{cite news |via= Publisher's Marketplace |title=Dealmakers: Feiwel and Friends |work=publishersmarketplace.com |date=March 2014 |access-date=February 20, 2013 |url=http://www.publishersmarketplace.com/dealmakers/detail.cgi?id=2340}}{{cite news |title=Young Adult Books |work=Jenn Bennett, Young Adult Books |access-date=April 18, 2013 |url=http://www.jennbennett.net/books/young-adult-books}} It won a 2015 Reviewers' Choice Award for YA Protagonist from [RT Book Reviews](/source/RT_Book_Reviews) and the 2016 [RITA Award](/source/RITA_Award) for Young Adult Romance.{{cite news |via= RT Book Reviews |title=Announcing the 2015 RT Reviewers' Choice Awards and Career Achievement Awards Winners |work=rtbookreviews.com |date=March 15, 2016 |access-date=April 18, 2016 |url=http://www.rtbookreviews.com/blog/88345/announcing-2015-rt-reviewers-choice-and-career-achievement-awards-winners}} {{cite web |last1=Lamb |first1=Joyce |title=Congratulations to the 2016 RITA and Golden Heart finalists! |url=http://happyeverafter.usatoday.com/2016/03/25/rwa-rita-finalists-2016/ |website=USA Today |access-date=3 May 2026 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160601051618/http://happyeverafter.usatoday.com/2016/03/25/rwa-rita-finalists-2016/ |archive-date=1 June 2016 |date=25 March 2016 |url-status=dead}} In 2017, [Simon and Schuster](/source/Simon_and_Schuster) published her second young adult book, ''Alex, Approximately'', a teen update of [You've Got Mail](/source/You've_Got_Mail). It received starred reviews from [Kirkus Reviews](/source/Kirkus_Reviews) and [Booklist](/source/Booklist),{{cite news |via= Kirkus Reviews |title=Alex, Approximately |work=www.kirkusreviews.com |date=February 15, 2017 |access-date=May 30, 2016 |url=https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/jenn-bennett/alex-approximately/}}{{cite news |via= Booklist |title=''Alex, Approximately'' by Jenn Bennett |work=booklistonline.com |date=February 15, 2017 |access-date=May 30, 2017 |url=https://www.booklistonline.com/Alex-Approximately-Jenn-Bennett/pid=8624460}} and it was translated into seven languages.{{cite news |via= Publishers Weekly |title=Rights Report: Week of November 30, 2015 |work=publishersweekly.com |date=December 1, 2015 |access-date=April 18, 2016 |url=http://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/childrens/childrens-book-news/article/68829-rights-report-week-of-november-30-2015.html}}{{cite news |title=More Young Adult Books |work=Jenn Bennett, Young Adult Books |date=December 13, 2015 |access-date=April 18, 2013 |url=http://www.jennbennett.net/archives/3597}} 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 [Kirkus Reviews](/source/Kirkus_Reviews) and was nominated for a [Goodreads](/source/Goodreads) Choice Award for Young Adult Fiction.{{cite news |via= Kirkus Reviews |title=Starry Eyes |work=www.kirkusreviews.com |date=February 5, 2018 |access-date=June 1, 2018 |url=https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/jenn-bennett/starry-eyes/}}{{cite news |via=Brighton Library |title=Goodreads Choice Awards Nominees 2018 |work=brightonlibrary.info |date=February 5, 2018 |access-date=August 27, 2018 |url=http://brightonlibrary.info/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/goodreads-choice-2018.pdf |archive-date=August 27, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190827174021/http://brightonlibrary.info/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/goodreads-choice-2018.pdf |url-status=dead }} It has been translated into five languages.{{cite news |title=Starry Eyes|work=Jenn Bennett, Young Adult Books |access-date=June 1, 2018 |url=http://www.jennbennett.net/books/young-adult-books/starry-eyes}} == Bibliography == {{Portal|Speculative fiction|Children's literature}} === Arcadia Bell series === #''Kindling the Moon'' (July 2011, {{ISBN|978-1-4516-2052-8}}) #''Summoning the Night'' (April 2012, {{ISBN|978-1-4516-2053-5}}) #''Leashing the Tempest'' (December 2012, {{ISBN|978-1-4516-9507-6}}) #''Binding the Shadows'' (May 2013, {{ISBN|978-1-4516-9508-3}}) #''Banishing the Dark'' (May 2014, {{ISBN|978-1-4516-9509-0}}) === Roaring Twenties series === #''Bitter Spirits'' (January 2014, {{ISBN|978-0-4252-6957-2}}) #''Grim Shadows'' (June 2014, {{ISBN|978-0-4252-6958-9}}) #''Grave Phantoms'' (May 2015, {{ISBN|978-0-4252-8076-8}}) === Young adult books === #''The Anatomical Shape of a Heart'' – UK edition titled '''Night Owls''' (November 3, 2015, {{ISBN|978-1-2500-6645-9}}) #''Alex, Approximately'' (April 2017, {{ISBN|978-1-4814-7877-9}}) #''Starry Eyes'' (April 2018, {{ISBN|978-1-4814-7880-9}}) #''Serious Moonlight'' (April 2019, {{ISBN|978-1-5344-2514-9}}) #''The Lady Rogue'' (September 2019, {{ISBN|978-1-5344-3199-7}}) #''Chasing Lucky'' (May 2020, {{ISBN|978-1-5344-2517-0}}) #''Always Jane'' (March 2022, {{ISBN|978-1-5344-8232-6}}) ==Awards and reception== * 2016 - Romance Writers of America [RITA Award](/source/RITA_Award), Young Adult Romance – ''The Anatomical Shape of a Heart''{{cite web |title=Past RITA Winners |url=https://www.rwa.org/past-rita-winners |website=Romance Writers of America |access-date=30 April 2026 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20260420103655/https://www.rwa.org/past-rita-winners |archive-date=20 April 2026}} == References == {{Reflist|2}} == External links == * [http://www.jennbennett.net/ Author's Website] * [http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4485813.Jenn_Bennett/ Listing at Goodreads] * {{ISFDB name|id=Jenn_Bennett|name=Jenn Bennett}} {{Authority control}} {{DEFAULTSORT:Bennett, Jenn}} Category:Living people Category:21st-century American novelists Category:American writers of young adult literature Category:American fantasy writers Category:Urban fantasy writers Category:American romantic fiction writers Category:Writers from Atlanta Category:American women writers of young adult literature Category:21st-century American women novelists Category:American women romantic fiction writers Category:American women science fiction and fantasy writers Category:Novelists from Georgia (U.S. state) Category:RITA Award winners Category:1978 births --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Jenn Bennett](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jenn_Bennett) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jenn_Bennett?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.