top of page
JenniePete_edited.jpg

Photo by Jim Turrell

Jennie Turrell is an author/illustrator based in Sewanee, Tennessee.

 

Jennie is an elementary art teacher by day and picture book maker by other waking hours at night, early morning, school break, and/or Tennessee "snow" day.

 

Her digital collages originate from traditional techniques of encaustic, assemblage, watercolor, and drawing.  She holds a bachelor’s degree is in Art from the University of the South.

 

After studying graphic design at the University of Georgia, she was principal and creative director for jmgdesign,inc. a design firm focused supporting not-for-profit organizations in Charlotte, NC. After moving to Tennessee, she volunteered at the neighborhood school to support struggling readers and turned her efforts to studying the capacity for high order thinking in young elementary students through education in visual arts. She earned a Master’s in Elementary Education from the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. She continues to do work with local organizations with design projects. She has been teaching art in rural Tennessee public schools for 15 years.  

​

Her publications include: 

​

Let Us Pray: A Little Kid’s Guide to the Eucharist (Morehouse Publishing, 2014). 

 

Sketch and Zee (2017) 

 

When not actually making books, Jennie can be found drinking coffee on her back porch thinking about making books.  She is determined to bake the perfect focaccia and soaks up the love and laughter that comes from spending time with her husband and son around the dinner table. 
 

See more from Jennie on Instagram.

  • Instagram
SCBWI_Member-2.png
©2026 Jennie Turrell
bottom of page