Jennifer Lynn Barnes (born October 19, 1984) is an American writer of young adult novels.

Personal life

Jennifer "Jen" Lynn Barnes was born on October 19, 1984, in

Tulsa, Oklahoma Tulsa ( ) is the List of municipalities in Oklahoma, second-most-populous city in the U.S. state, state of Oklahoma, after Oklahoma City, and the List of United States cities by population, 48th-most-populous city in the United States. The po ...

. She graduated from high school in 2002, then attended

Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701, Yale is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Stat ...

, where she studied

cognitive science Cognitive science is the interdisciplinary, scientific study of the mind and its processes. It examines the nature, the tasks, and the functions of cognition (in a broad sense). Mental faculties of concern to cognitive scientists include percep ...

. She graduated with a bachelor's degree from the university in 2006 and a Ph.D. in 2012. She is married and has three sons.

Career

Barnes wrote her first novel at age nineteen and sold five books while completing university. After receiving her Ph.D. from

, she conducted autism research at the

University of Cambridge The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, wo ...

. She now serves as an associate professor of both psychology and professional writing at the

University of Oklahoma The University of Oklahoma (OU) is a Public university, public research university in Norman, Oklahoma, United States. Founded in 1890, it had existed in Oklahoma Territory near Indian Territory for 17 years before the two territories became the ...

. In 2019, she received the university's Robert Glenn Rapp Foundation Presidential Professorship.

Book series

''The Inheritance Games'' (2020–2022)

The Inheritance Games is a

young adult novel Young adult literature (YA) is typically written for readers aged 12 to 18 and includes most of the themes found in adult fiction, such as family dysfunction, substance abuse, alcoholism, and sexuality. It is characterized by simpler world build ...

series, published by

Little, Brown Books for Young Readers Little, Brown and Company is an American publishing company founded in 1837 by Charles Coffin Little and James Brown in Boston. For close to two centuries, it has published fiction and nonfiction by American authors. Early lists featured Emily ...

. The series currently consists of four books: ''The Inheritance Games'' (2020), ''The Hawthorne Legacy'' (2021), and ''The Final Gambit'' (2022). The first book in the series, ''The Inheritance Games'', is a

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

and

IndieBound The American Booksellers Association (ABA) is a non-profit trade association founded in 1900 that promotes independent bookstores in the United States. ABA's core members are key participants in their communities' local economy and culture, and to ...

best seller. It was nominated for the

Edgar Award The Edgar Allan Poe Awards, popularly called the Edgars, are presented every year by the Mystery Writers of America which is based in New York City. Named after American writer Edgar Allan Poe (1809–1849), a pioneer in the genre, the awards hon ...

for Young Adult, the

Goodreads Choice Award The Goodreads Choice Awards is a yearly award program, first launched on Goodreads in 2009. Winners are determined by users voting on books that Goodreads has nominated or books of their choosing, released in the given year. Most books that Good ...

for Young Adult, and

YALSA The Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA), established in 1957, is a division of the American Library Association. YALSA is a national association of librarians, library workers and advocates whose mission is to expand the capacity of l ...

's Teen's Top Ten, and was selected for

Quick Picks for Reluctant Young Adult Readers Quick, as an adjective, refers to something moving with high speed. Quick may also refer to: In business * Quick (restaurant), a Belgian fast-food restaurant chain * Quick (sportswear), a Dutch manufacturer of sportswear * Quick (automobile), ...

and

Best Fiction for Young Adults The American Library Association's (ALA) Best Fiction for Young Adults, previously known as Best Books for Young Adults (1966–2010), is a recommended list of books presented yearly by the Young Adult Library Services Association The Young Ad ...

and

Kirkus Reviews ''Kirkus Reviews'' is an American book review magazine founded in 1933 by Virginia Kirkus. The magazine's publisher, Kirkus Media, is headquartered in New York City. ''Kirkus Reviews'' confers the annual Kirkus Prize to authors of fiction, no ...

' Best Books of 2020. ''The Hawthorne Legacy'' was a finalist for a

for Young Adult Fiction. ''The Final Gambit'' won the 2022

Goodreads Choice Awards The Goodreads Choice Awards is a yearly award program, first launched on Goodreads in 2009. Winners are determined by crowdvoting, users voting on books that Goodreads has nominated or books of their choosing, released in the given year. Most boo ...

for Best Young Adult Fiction.

''The Inheritance Games'' Spin-offs

''The Brothers Hawthorne'', a spin-off book portrayed after the events of The Inheritance Games released on August 29, 2023. ''The Brothers Hawthorne'' was a nominee for the

for Best Young Adult Fiction in 2023. ''The Grandest Game'' is the first book in a new spin-off series from The Inheritance Games, released on July 30, 2024.

Debutantes (2018–2019)

Debutantes A debutante, also spelled débutante ( ; from , ), or deb is a young woman of aristocratic or upper-class family background who has reached maturity and is presented to society at a formal "debut" ( , ; ) or possibly debutante ball. Original ...

is a young adult mystery novel series published by Freeform. The series consist of two books: ''Little White Lies'' (2018) and ''Deadly Little Scandals'' (2019).

''The Fixer'' (2015–2016)

The Fixer is a

young adult In medicine and the social sciences, a young adult is generally a person in the years following adolescence, sometimes with some overlap. Definitions and opinions on what qualifies as a young adult vary, with works such as Erik Erikson's stages ...

mystery novel Mystery is a fiction genre where the nature of an event, usually a murder or other crime, remains mysterious until the end of the story. Often within a closed circle of suspects, each suspect is usually provided with a credible motive and a re ...

series published by Bloomsbury Children's Books. The series consists of two books: ''The Fixer'' (2015) and ''The Long Game'' (2016). The first book in the series, ''The Fixer,'' was nominated for the South Carolina Book Award for Young Adult (2018) and the Missouri Truman Readers Award (2018).

''The Naturals'' (2013–2017)

The Naturals The Naturals were a professional wrestling tag team made up of Andy Douglas and Chase Stevens. They are best known for their work in Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA), where they are former three-time NWA World Tag Team Champions. History ...

is a

series published by

Disney-Hyperion Disney Publishing Worldwide (DPW), formerly known as The Disney Publishing Group and Buena Vista Publishing Group, is the publishing subsidiary of Disney Experiences, a subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company. Its imprints include Disney Edition ...

. The series consists of five books: ''The Naturals'' (2013)'', Killer Instinct'' (2014)'', All In'' (2015)'', Bad Blood'' (2016)'','' and ''Twelve'' (2017). The first book in the series, ''The Naturals'', was nominated for the Lincoln Award and the Missouri Gateway Readers Award in 2018 and was a

selection in 2014.

Publications

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Barnes, Jennifer Lynn Living people American young adult novelists Yale University alumni Writers from Tulsa, Oklahoma University of Oklahoma faculty 21st-century American women writers 21st-century American novelists American women novelists Novelists from Oklahoma 1984 births American women writers of young adult literature