About

Portrait image of Jess Kidd

About Jess Kidd

Jess Kidd was brought up in London as part of a large family from county Mayo and has been praised for her unique fictional voice. Her debut, Himself, was shortlisted for the Irish Book Awards in 2016. She won the Costa Short Story Award the same year. Her second novel, The Hoarder (published as Mr. Flood’s Last Resort in the U.S.), was shortlisted for the Kerry Group Irish Novel of the Year 2019. Both books were BBC Radio 2 Book Club Picks. Her Victorian detective tale Things in Jars, was released to critical acclaim. Jess’s work has been described as ‘Gabriel García Márquez meets The Pogues.’

Portrait of Jess Kidd ©Cordula Treml

 

Jess’ first children’s book Everyday Magic came out in February 2021, published by Canongate. The fourth novel, The Night Ship, will be published in August 2022. She is also developing her own original TV projects with leading U.K. and international TV producers.