J.F. PENN

Press and Media

For journalists, podcasters, book bloggers and event organisers. Everything you need to feature J.F. Penn: bios in three lengths, quick facts, topics she can comment on, books and photos for download.

Contact: joanna@jfpenn.com. Jo is based in Bath, England (UK time) and is available for UK and international interviews, in person or remotely by Zoom or Riverside.

For film, TV, audio drama, translation and other rights enquiries, please email with the title and territory. The current screen slate, with loglines and one-sheets, is on the Film and TV page.

Bios, ready to copy

Short bio (about 50 words)

J.F. Penn is the award-winning, New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of thrillers, dark fantasy, crime, horror, short stories and travel memoir. Her stories blend ancient relics, international locations and the supernatural. Her memoir Pilgrimage won the Selfies Award for Best Non-Fiction/Memoir in 2024. She lives in Bath, England.

Medium bio (about 100 words)

J.F. Penn is the award-winning, New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of thrillers, dark fantasy, crime, horror, short stories and travel memoir. Her books include the 13-book ARKANE series, described by readers as ‘Dan Brown meets Lara Croft’, the Dark London crime trilogy, the Mapwalker trilogy, and standalones Blood Vintage and Death Valley.

Destroyer of Worlds was a finalist for the International Thriller Writers Award 2017, Death Valley a finalist in the Selfies Awards 2026, and her memoir Pilgrimage won Best Non-Fiction/Memoir at the Selfies Awards 2024.

Every story starts with a real place. Jo has a Master’s degree in Theology from the University of Oxford and a Master’s degree in Death, Religion and Culture from the University of Winchester (2026), and her research travels take her from catacombs and ossuaries to deserts and sacred sites. She lives in Bath, England.

Long bio (about 200 words)

J.F. Penn is the award-winning, New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of thrillers, dark fantasy, crime, horror, short stories and travel memoir. Her more than thirty books include the 13-book ARKANE series, the Dark London crime trilogy, the Mapwalker trilogy, and standalones Blood Vintage, Catacomb and Death Valley.

She hit the New York Times and USA Today lists in 2014 with the Deadly Dozen box set, and the USA Today list again in 2016 with her ARKANE box set. Destroyer of Worlds was an International Thriller Writers Award finalist in 2017, and Death Valley a Selfies Awards finalist in 2026.

Her memoir, Pilgrimage: Lessons Learned from Solo Walking Three Ancient Ways, won Best Non-Fiction/Memoir at the Selfies Awards, London Book Fair 2024.

Every book is set in real places she has visited, from the vaults beneath Edinburgh to the ghats of Varanasi and the salt flats of Death Valley, and ends with an Author’s Note separating fact from fiction.

Jo has a Master’s degree in Theology from the University of Oxford and a Master’s degree in Death, Religion and Culture from the University of Winchester (2026). As Joanna Penn she writes non-fiction for authors and hosts The Creative Penn Podcast. She lives in Bath, England, with her husband and two British shorthair cats.

Quick facts

  • New York Times and USA Today bestselling author: 2014 with the Deadly Dozen box set (featuring her novella One Day in Budapest), and the USA Today list again in 2016 with the ARKANE box set of Stone of Fire, Crypt of Bone and Ark of Blood
  • Death Valley: finalist, Best Fiction, Selfies Awards 2026
  • Pilgrimage: Lessons Learned from Solo Walking Three Ancient Ways: winner, Best Non-Fiction/Memoir, Selfies Awards at London Book Fair 2024
  • Destroyer of Worlds (ARKANE book 8): finalist, International Thriller Writers Award for Best Ebook Original, 2017
  • More than thirty novels, novellas, short stories and collections, and writing for more than 20 years
  • Series: ARKANE (13 books), Dark London (Brooke and Daniel trilogy), Mapwalker trilogy. Standalones: Blood Vintage, Catacomb and Death Valley
  • Every book is set in real places she has visited and ends with an Author’s Note separating fact from fiction
  • Education: Master’s degree in Theology, University of Oxford; Graduate Diploma in Psychology, University of Auckland; Master’s degree in Death, Religion and Culture, University of Winchester (2026)
  • Available in German, French, Spanish and Italian editions, in large print, and in audio (the ARKANE series is narrated by Veronica Giguere; Jo narrates her short stories herself)
  • Also writes non-fiction for authors as Joanna Penn and hosts The Creative Penn Podcast
  • Lives in Bath, England, with her husband and two British shorthair cats, Cashew and Noisette

Topics J.F. Penn can comment on

  • Religious relics and ancient mysteries: the real artefacts, legends and conspiracies behind the ARKANE thrillers
  • Where fact meets fiction: how real places such as the vaults beneath Edinburgh, the ghats of Varanasi and the salt flats of Death Valley become novels
  • Dark travel as research: catacombs, ossuaries, graveyards and anatomical museums, and what they do to a writer’s imagination
  • Death, religion and culture: memento mori, how different cultures treat their dead, and why the darker corners of belief make good thrillers
  • Theology and psychology in fiction: writing about faith, doubt and the supernatural without preaching
  • Folk horror and the English landscape: Blood Vintage and the old rituals beneath modern life
  • Writing thrillers and dark fantasy: plot, pace, and keeping the history accurate while the monsters are invented
  • Travel memoir and pilgrimage: walking the Pilgrims’ Way, St Cuthbert’s Way and the Camino de Santiago, and what three solo walks changed
  • The independent author’s path in fiction: Kickstarter campaigns, selling direct to readers, translations, large print and audiobooks
  • Film and TV adaptation: what makes a thriller series screen-ready, and the rights available on her books
  • Writing across genres and pen names: thrillers, horror and memoir as J.F. Penn, non-fiction as Joanna Penn
  • Grief and loss: writing about death without flinching, in fiction and memoir
  • Living childfree: a creative life built around books, travel and two cats

Books by J.F. Penn

Every book is available in ebook, paperback, large print and audiobook. Buy direct at JFPennBooks.com, or browse the full library by world and genre.

Try a free thriller at JFPenn.com/free.

Photos for media

Please credit Betty Bhandari. Click an image to open the full-size file for download.

J.F. Penn, Bath, 2025. Photo by Betty Bhandari
J.F. Penn, Bath, 2025 (portrait). Photo by Betty Bhandari
J.F. Penn, Bath, 2025. Photo by Betty Bhandari
J.F. Penn, Bath, 2025 (portrait). Photo by Betty Bhandari
J.F. Penn writing, Bath, 2025. Photo by Betty Bhandari
J.F. Penn writing, Bath, 2025 (landscape). Photo by Betty Bhandari
J.F. Penn, Bath, 2025. Photo by Betty Bhandari
J.F. Penn, Bath, 2025 (landscape). Photo by Betty Bhandari

Selected appearances

Also as Joanna Penn

Jo also writes non-fiction for authors as Joanna Penn and hosts The Creative Penn Podcast, a show for writers. Her site for writers is TheCreativePenn.com, and bios and topics for that side of her work are on the Joanna Penn Press and Media page.

Links