Jess was brought up in London as part of a large family from County Mayo. After returning to college as a mature learner on a bursary Jess lectured and taught creative writing to all age groups. Her debut novel, Himself, was shortlisted for the Irish Book Awards 2016, Authors' Club Best First Novel Award 2017 and longlisted for the John Creasey (New Blood) Dagger 2017. Her second novel, The Hoarder, was shortlisted for Kerry Group Irish Novel of the Year 2019. Both books were selected for the BBC Radio 2 Book Club. Jess's third novel, Things in Jars, was published to critical acclaim. Her fourth book, an epic shipwreck saga called The Night Ship, is out this year. Jess won the Costa Short Story Award in 2016 with 'Dirty Little Fishes' and has recently contributed short fiction to The Haunting Season, a collection of ghostly winter tales. Jess's first book for children Everyday Magic is a teacher's pick.

Jess has lately been developing original TV and film projects alongside short fiction and her fifth novel. To find out more about Jess and her work visit jess.kidd.com or Twitter @JessKiddHerself.