Jessica Townsend (born 18 April 1985 in

Caloundra Caloundra ( ) is a coastal town in the Sunshine Coast Region, Queensland, Australia. In the , the town of Caloundra had a population of 96,305 people. Geography Caloundra is north of the Brisbane central business district. Caloundra is acce ...

Queensland Queensland ( , commonly abbreviated as Qld) is a States and territories of Australia, state in northeastern Australia, and is the second-largest and third-most populous state in Australia. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Austr ...

) is an Australian author known for the children's fantasy novel series, '' The Nevermoor series''. Her

debut novel A debut novel is the first novel a novelist publishes. Debut novels are often the author's first opportunity to make an impact on the publishing industry, and thus the success or failure of a debut novel can affect the ability of the author to pu ...

'' Nevermoor: The Trials of Morrigan Crow ''won the Book of the Year Award at the

Australian Book Industry Awards The Australian Book Industry Awards (ABIA) are publishers' and literary awards held by the Australian Publishers Association (APA) annually in Australia since 2001. The awards celebrate "the achievements of authors and publishers in bringing Au ...

, and was shortlisted for the 2019 NSW Premier's Literary Awards' Patricia Wrightson Prize for Children's Literature. At the

Adelaide Festival Awards for Literature The South Australian Literary Awards, until 2024 known as the Adelaide Festival Awards for Literature, comprise a group of biennially-granted literary awards established in 1986 by the Government of South Australia. Formerly announced during A ...

, ''Nevermoor'' won both the Premier's Award for best overall published work and the Children's Award. It also won the 2018

Waterstones Children's Book Prize The Waterstones Children's Book Prize is an annual award given to a work of children's literature published during the previous year. First awarded in 2005, the purpose of the prize is "to uncover hidden talent in children's writing" and is the ...

for Younger Fiction. Film rights to ''Nevermoor'' were sold to

20th Century Fox 20th Century Studios, Inc., formerly 20th Century Fox, is an American film studio, film production and Film distributor, distribution company owned by the Walt Disney Studios (division), Walt Disney Studios, the film studios division of the ...

in 2016. Screenwriter

Drew Goddard Andrew Brion Hogan Goddard (born February 26, 1975) is an American screenwriter, director, and producer most closely associated with the horror genre. He began his career writing episodes for the television shows '' Buffy the Vampire Slayer'', ...

has been selected to adapt the screenplay.

Biography

Jessica Townsend grew up in Queensland, Australia. She wrote her first story at the age of 7, and it was published in a local library newsletter. Townsend began writing what would become the first ''Nevermoor'' book the year she left high school. She worked as a copywriter for 8 years and at Steve Irwin's

Australia Zoo Australia Zoo is a zoo in the Australian state of Queensland on the Sunshine Coast near Beerwah/ Glass House Mountains. It is a member of the Zoo and Aquarium Association (ZAA), and is owned by Terri Irwin, the widow of Steve Irwin, whose ...

for 5 years, including as an editor of its children's magazine Crikey! She moved to London at age 22 and has lived off and on in Queensland and London for the last 10 years. The sale of the ''Nevermoor'' books has allowed Townsend to become a full-time writer. ''Nevermoor: The Trials of Morrigan Crow'' was Townsend's first novel. Interest in the publishing rights began at the 2016

Frankfurt Book Fair The Frankfurt Book Fair (German: , FBM) is the world's largest trade fair for books, based on the number of publishing companies represented. The five-day annual event in mid-October is held at the Frankfurt Trade Fair grounds in Frankfurt am ...

, and the rights were bid on by eight different publishing companies. Townsend chose to sell the rights to

Hachette Hachette may refer to: * Hachette (surname) * Hachette Livre, a French publisher, the imprint of Lagardère Publishing ** Hachette Book Group, the American subsidiary ** Hachette Distribution Services, the distribution arm See also * Hachette Fil ...

as part of a six-figure three-book contract. In 2019 the contract with Hachette was expanded for three more books. Townsend has stated that she has written plots for nine books in the series.

Literary influences

Jessica Townsend has referenced several literary influences for her writing. Written influences include ''

Little Women ''Little Women'' is a coming-of-age novel written by American novelist Louisa May Alcott, originally published in two volumes, in 1868 and 1869. The story follows the lives of the four March sisters— Meg, Jo, Beth, and Amy—and details th ...

'', which she's called her favorite book, ''

The Baby-Sitters Club ''The Baby-Sitters Club'' (also known as the BSC) is a series of novels written by Ann M. Martin and published by Scholastic Corporation, Scholastic between 1986 and 2000. Collectively, the series has sold more than 190 million copies.Then, the f ...

'', ''

His Dark Materials ''His Dark Materials'' is a trilogy of fantasy novels by Philip Pullman consisting of '' Northern Lights'' (1995; published as ''The Golden Compass'' in North America), '' The Subtle Knife'' (1997), and '' The Amber Spyglass'' (2000). It follo ...

'', ''Wicked'', ''Tomorrow When the War Began'', ''No Gun for Asmir'', and the ''

Harry Potter ''Harry Potter'' is a series of seven Fantasy literature, fantasy novels written by British author J. K. Rowling. The novels chronicle the lives of a young Magician (fantasy), wizard, Harry Potter (character), Harry Potter, and his friends ...

'' series. Her work has been compared to that of

J. K. Rowling Joanne Rowling ( ; born 31 July 1965), known by her pen name , is a British author and philanthropist. She is the author of ''Harry Potter'', a seven-volume fantasy novel series published from 1997 to 2007. The series has List of best-sell ...

, and she has cited Rowling as a major influence, though she has also said that she is "just so gutted and so disappointed" by Rowling's anti-trans activism. Film influences include ''Willow'' and ''

Return to Oz ''Return to Oz'' is a 1985 dark fantasy film released by Walt Disney Pictures, co-written and directed by Walter Murch. It stars Nicol Williamson, Jean Marsh, Piper Laurie, and Fairuza Balk as Dorothy Gale in her first screen role. The film is ...

''. Critics have also noted similarities between the world of Nevermoor and contemporary

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

. In particular, Courage Square in the novels is inspired by

Trafalgar Square Trafalgar Square ( ) is a public square in the City of Westminster in Central London. It was established in the early-19th century around the area formerly known as Charing Cross. Its name commemorates the Battle of Trafalgar, the Royal Navy, ...

and the Wunderground is inspired by the

London Underground The London Underground (also known simply as the Underground or as the Tube) is a rapid transit system serving Greater London and some parts of the adjacent home counties of Buckinghamshire, Essex and Hertfordshire in England. The Undergro ...

Works

''The Nevermoor series''

* '' Nevermoor: The Trials of Morrigan Crow'' (2017) * '' Wundersmith: The Calling of Morrigan Crow'' (2018) * '' Hollowpox: The Hunt for Morrigan Crow'' (2020) *''Silverborn: The Mystery of Morrigan Crow'' (2025)

References

External links

Jessica Townsend
at Hachette Australia {{DEFAULTSORT:Townsend, Jessica 1985 births Writers from Queensland Living people People from Caloundra