Ursula Vernon (born May 28, 1977) is an American freelance writer, artist and illustrator. She has won numerous awards for her work in various mediums, including

Hugo Award The Hugo Award is an annual literary award for the best science fiction or fantasy works and achievements of the previous year, given at the World Science Fiction Convention (Worldcon) and chosen by its members. The award is administered by th ...

s for her graphic novel '' Digger'', fantasy novel '' Nettle & Bone'', and fantasy novella '' Thornhedge'', the

Nebula Award The Nebula Awards annually recognize the best works of science fiction or fantasy published in the United States. The awards are organized and awarded by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers Association (SFWA), a nonprofit association of pr ...

for her short story " Jackalope Wives", and

Mythopoeic Award The Mythopoeic Awards for literature and literary studies are given annually for outstanding works in the fields of myth, fantasy, and the scholarly study of these areas. Established by the Mythopoeic Society in 1971, the Mythopoeic Fantasy Awar ...

s for adult and children's literature. Vernon's books for children include ''Hamster Princess'' and ''Dragonbreath''. Under the name T. Kingfisher, she is also the author of books for older audiences. She writes short fiction under both names.

Career

Ursula Vernon grew up in

Oregon Oregon ( , ) is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is a part of the Western U.S., with the Columbia River delineating much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while t ...

and

Arizona Arizona is a U.S. state, state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States, sharing the Four Corners region of the western United States with Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah. It also borders Nevada to the nort ...

. She studied

anthropology Anthropology is the scientific study of humanity, concerned with human behavior, human biology, cultures, society, societies, and linguistics, in both the present and past, including archaic humans. Social anthropology studies patterns of behav ...

Macalester College Macalester College ( ) is a private liberal arts college in Saint Paul, Minnesota, United States. Founded in 1874, Macalester is exclusively an undergraduate institution with an enrollment of 2,142 students in the fall of 2023. The college ha ...

Saint Paul, Minnesota Saint Paul (often abbreviated St. Paul) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Minnesota and the county seat of Ramsey County, Minnesota, Ramsey County. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, ...

, where she first took art classes. She first became known for her webcomics and as a freelance artist, particularly for her works containing

anthropomorphic Anthropomorphism is the attribution of human traits, emotions, or intentions to non-human entities. It is considered to be an innate tendency of human psychology. Personification is the related attribution of human form and characteristics to ...

animals. She then moved into writing and illustrating a number of children's books, her first being published in 2008, and then books for adults under the pseudonym T. Kingfisher. She decided to start using the pseudonym in order to avoid confusion amongst parents who were only familiar with her as a children's book author, and chose it because she loves

kingfisher Kingfishers are a family, the Alcedinidae, of small to medium-sized, brightly coloured birds in the order Coraciiformes. They have a cosmopolitan distribution, with most species living in the tropical regions of Africa, Asia, and Oceania, ...

s (and as an homage to Ursula K. LeGuin, who once joked that the initials "U.K." could stand for "Ulysses Kingfisher"). Vernon has published short fiction under both names, and has won a number of awards for them including the

and

. She regularly attends

conventions Convention may refer to: * Convention (norm), a custom or tradition, a standard of presentation or conduct ** Treaty, an agreement in international law ** Convention (political norm), uncodified legal or political tradition * Convention (meeting) ...

to exhibit and sell her work. She has been a guest of honor at

Midwest FurFest Midwest FurFest (MFF) is a furry convention that takes place in Rosemont, Illinois, usually on the second weekend after Thanksgiving. First held in 2000, MFF is presented by Midwest Furry Fandom Inc, an Illinois Educational Not-For-Profit Corpora ...

2004 and 2009, and the Artist Guest of Honor at Further Confusion 2010. Vernon was the Author Guest of Honor for Mythcon 45 and a Guest of Honor at

Eurofurence Eurofurence (commonly abbreviated EF) is a furry convention, initially held in changing places in Europe every year, but staying in Germany since 2004. It was originally started in 1995 as a private gathering by nineteen European furry fandom, ...

20, both in August 2014. In 2017, she was the Author Guest of Honor at

Arisia Arisia is a Boston-area, volunteer-run science fiction convention, named for a planet in the Lensman novels by E. E. "Doc" Smith. The name was chosen in response to an older Boston-area con, Boskone, which took the typical ending for a conv ...

'17. Vernon podcasts with her husband, Kevin Sonney. In June 2023, Vernon announced she had been diagnosed with breast cancer; however, by December of that year, she announced that her treatment had been successful and she was "cancer-free".

Works

Books for younger audiences

Vernon is the author and illustrator of the ''Dragonbreath'' and ''Hamster Princess'' children's book series, published by Dial Books:

Dragonbreath series

* ''Dragonbreath''. (2009). * ''Dragonbreath: Attack of the Ninja Frogs''. (2010). * ''Dragonbreath: Curse of the Were-Weiner''. (2010). * ''Dragonbreath: Lair of the Bat Monster''. (2011). * ''Dragonbreath: No Such Thing as Ghosts''. (2011). * ''Dragonbreath: Revenge of the Horned Bunnies''. (2012). * ''Dragonbreath: When Fairies Go Bad''. (2012). * ''Dragonbreath: Nightmare of the Iguana''. (2013). * ''Dragonbreath: The Case of the Toxic Mutants''. (2013). * ''Dragonbreath: Knight-napped!''. (2015). * ''Dragonbreath: The Frozen Menace''. (2016).

Hamster Princess series

* ''Hamster Princess: Harriet the Invincible''. (August 18, 2015). * ''Hamster Princess: Of Mice and Magic''. (March 15, 2016). * ''Hamster Princess: Ratpunzel''. (October 18, 2016). * ''Hamster Princess: Giant Trouble''. (May 9, 2017). * ''Hamster Princess: Whiskerella''. (January 23, 2018). * ''Hamster Princess: Little Red Rodent Hood''. (September 25, 2018).

Other children's books

* ''Nurk: The Strange Surprising Adventures Of A (Somewhat) Brave Shrew''. (2008). Harcourt. * ''Castle Hangnail''. (April 21, 2015) Dial Books. )

Books for older audiences

Written as Ursula Vernon: * ''It Made Sense at the Time: Selected Sketches''. (November 18, 2004). Sofawolf Press. * ''Black Dogs Part 1: The House of Diamond''. (March 1, 2007). Sofawolf Press. * ''Black Dogs Part 2: The Mountain of Iron''. (January 1, 2011). Sofawolf Press.

Temple of the White Rat books

The following books were written under the name T. Kingfisher and take place in what Vernon calls "the Temple of the White Rat world." * ''Clockwork Boys''. ''Clocktaur War'' #1. (November 21, 2017). Red Wombat Tea Company. * ''The Wonder Engine''. ''Clocktaur War'' #2. (February 27, 2018). Red Wombat Tea Company * '' Swordheart''. (November 27, 2018). Argyll Productions. * ''Paladin's Grace''. ''The Saint of Steel'' #1. (February 11, 2020) Red Wombat Studio. * ''Paladin's Strength''. ''The Saint of Steel'' #2. (February 28, 2021). Red Wombat Studio. * ''Paladin's Hope''. ''The Saint of Steel'' #3. (October 9, 2021). Red Wombat Studio. * ''Paladin's Faith''. ''The Saint of Steel'' #4. (December 5, 2023). Red Wombat Studio.

The Sworn Soldier books

Under the pen name T. Kingfisher: * ''

What Moves The Dead ''What Moves the Dead'' is a 2022 horror novella by Ursula Vernon, writing under the pen name T. Kingfisher. It is based on the short story "The Fall of the House of Usher" by Edgar Allan Poe. The novella received critical acclaim, winning the ...

''. (July 12, 2022). Tor Nightfire. * '' What Feasts at Night''. (February 13, 2024). Tor Nightfire.

Other books for older audiences

Under the pen name T. Kingfisher: * ''Nine Goblins''. (October 27, 2013). Red Wombat Tea Company. * ''The Seventh Bride''. (November 11, 2014). Red Wombat Tea Company. * ''Bryony & Roses''. (May 18, 2015). Red Wombat Tea Company. * ''The Raven & The Reindeer''. (February 7, 2016). Red Wombat Tea Company. * ''Summer in Orcus''. (September 2016). Red Wombat Tea Company. * ''The Halcyon Fairy Book''. (January 19, 2017).

NESFA Press NESFA Press is the publishing arm of the New England Science Fiction Association, Inc. The NESFA Press primarily produces three types of books: * Books honoring the guest(s) of honor at their annual convention, Boskone, and at some Worldcons an ...

. * ''Minor Mage''. (July 29, 2019). Argyll Productions. * '' The Twisted Ones''. (October 1, 2019).

Simon & Schuster Simon & Schuster LLC (, ) is an American publishing house owned by Kohlberg Kravis Roberts since 2023. It was founded in New York City in 1924, by Richard L. Simon and M. Lincoln Schuster. Along with Penguin Random House, Hachette Book Group US ...

. * '' A Wizard's Guide to Defensive Baking''. (July 21, 2020). Argyll Productions. * ''The Hollow Places''. (October 6, 2020). Simon & Schuster. * '' Nettle & Bone''. (April 26, 2022).

Tor Books Tor Books is the primary imprint of Tor Publishing Group (previously Tom Doherty Associates), a publishing company based in New York City. It primarily publishes science fiction and fantasy titles. History Tor was founded by Tom Doherty, ...

. * ''Illuminations''. (November 25, 2022). Argyll Productions. * '' A House with Good Bones''. (March 28, 2023). Tor Nightfire. * '' Thornhedge''. (August 15, 2023). Tor Books. * ''A Sorceress Comes to Call''. (August 6, 2024). Tor Books

Webcomics

Vernon is the author of the

Eisner Award The Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards, commonly shortened to the Eisner Awards, are awards for creative achievement in American comic books. They are regarded as the most prestigious and significant awards in the comic industry and often referred ...

-nominated and

-winning webcomic '' Digger''. A fantasy story featuring an anthropomorphic

wombat Wombats are short-legged, muscular quadrupedal marsupials of the family Vombatidae that are native to Australia. Living species are about in length with small, stubby tails and weigh between . They are adaptable and habitat tolerant, and are ...

, it is also available in six paperback books published between 2005 and 2011: Vol. 1 (), Vol. 2 (), Vol. 3 (), Vol. 4 (), Vol. 5 (), and Vol. 6 (), and as ''Digger: The Complete Omnibus Edition'' (), published in 2013. She is also the writer and illustrator of the webcomic ''Irrational Fears'' and the short stories "Little Creature" and "Little Creature and the Redcap".

Illustrations and art

Before becoming a published children's book author Vernon was primarily a freelance artist and illustrator, and she still regularly produces new works of art. Her work includes the creation of

digital art Digital art, or the digital arts, is artistic work that uses Digital electronics, digital technology as part of the creative or presentational process. It can also refer to computational art that uses and engages with digital media. Since the 1960 ...

as well as the use of more traditional mediums such as

watercolour Watercolor (American English) or watercolour ( Commonwealth English; see spelling differences), also ''aquarelle'' (; from Italian diminutive of Latin 'water'), is a painting method"Watercolor may be as old as art itself, going back to the ...

and acrylics, with much of her more recent work being

mixed media In visual art, mixed media describes work of art, artwork in which more than one Art medium, medium or material has been employed. Assemblages, collages, and sculpture are three common examples of art using different List of art media, media. M ...

. Most of her art work is available as prints. Vernon has also taken commercial commissions such as book covers and game art. The game ''Black Sheep'' designed by

Reiner Knizia Reiner Knizia () is a prolific German-style board game designer. He was born in West Germany in 1957 and earned a doctorate in Mathematics from the University of Ulm before designing games full time. He is frequently included on lists of the gre ...

and published by

Fantasy Flight Games Fantasy Flight Games (FFG) is a game developer based in Roseville, Minnesota, United States, that creates and publishes role-playing game, role-playing, board game, board, card game, card, and dice game, dice games. As of 2014, it is a division of ...

uses art by Vernon on its playing cards. Her artwork titled ''The Biting Pear of Salamanca'' became an

internet meme An Internet meme, or meme (, Help:Pronunciation respelling key, ''MEEM''), is a cultural item (such as an idea, behavior, or style) that spreads across the Internet, primarily through Social media, social media platforms. Internet memes manif ...

in the form of the "LOL WUT pear" and has been made into a

resin A resin is a solid or highly viscous liquid that can be converted into a polymer. Resins may be biological or synthetic in origin, but are typically harvested from plants. Resins are mixtures of organic compounds, predominantly terpenes. Commo ...

figurine A figurine (a diminutive form of the word ''figure'') or statuette is a small, three-dimensional sculpture that represents a human, deity or animal, or, in practice, a pair or small group of them. Figurines have been made in many media, with cla ...

due to its popularity. She has also designed labels for a series of tea and soap products.

Awards and nominations

Vernon has also received the following accolades: * Her cover for '' Best in Show'' won the 2003 Ursa Major Award for ''Best Anthropomorphic Published Illustration''. * For her work on '' Digger'', Vernon was nominated for the 2006

s in the category "Talent Deserving of Wider Recognition", and won the 2005

Web Cartoonists' Choice Award The Web Cartoonists' Choice Awards (WCCA) were annual awards in which established webcartoonists nominated and selected outstanding webcomics. The awards were held between 2001 and 2008, were mentioned in a ''New York Times'' column on webcomics ...

for "Outstanding Black and White Art". '' Digger'' has also been nominated in the "Outstanding Anthropomorphic Comic" category. * " Jackalope Wives" (2014), " The Tomato Thief" (2016) and "Metal Like Blood in the Dark" (2020) won the

WSFA Small Press Award The WSFA Small Press Award was inaugurated by the Washington Science Fiction Association in 2007. The award is open to works of imaginative literature (e.g. science fiction, fantasy, horror) published in English for the first time in the previou ...

Notes

References

External links

Personal websites
RedWombatStudio.com

Bark Like a Fish, Damnit!
public

Livejournal LiveJournal (), stylised as LiVEJOURNAL, is a Russian-owned social networking service where users can keep a blog, journal, or diary. American programmer Brad Fitzpatrick started LiveJournal on April 15, 1999, as a way of keeping his high school ...

blog (last updated 2017)
''Digger'' webcomic
Socials *
Ursula Vernon
on

Goodreads Goodreads is an American social cataloging website and a subsidiary of Amazon that allows individuals to search its database of books, annotations, quotes, and reviews. Users can sign up and register books to generate library catalogs and readi ...

Ursula Vernon
on

DeviantArt DeviantArt (formerly styled as deviantART and thus abbreviated as dA) is an American online community that features artwork, videography, photography, and literature, launched on August 7, 2000, by Mathew Stephens, Scott Jarkoff and Angelo Sotir ...

Catalogs * *
Ursula Vernon
at Fantastic Fiction

accessed March 4, 2022, Publishers
Ursula Vernon
at Penguin Random
Ursula Vernon
at

Argyll Argyll (; archaically Argyle; , ), sometimes called Argyllshire, is a Shires of Scotland, historic county and registration county of western Scotland. The county ceased to be used for local government purposes in 1975 and most of the area ...

Ursula Vernon
on '' Uncanny Mag''
Ursula Vernon
on

Audible Audible may refer to: * Audible (service), an online audiobook store * Audible (American football), a tactic used by quarterbacks * ''Audible'' (film), a short documentary film featuring a deaf high school football player * Audible finish or ru ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Vernon, Ursula 1977 births 21st-century American novelists 21st-century American women writers American children's writers American women children's writers American fantasy writers American horror writers American fantasy artists American horror artists American women horror writers American female comics artists American graphic novelists American women novelists American webcomic creators American female comics writers Furry fandom people Hugo Award–winning writers Living people Nebula Award winners Macalester College alumni American women science fiction and fantasy writers