Jessica Ellis author page

Jessica Ellis biography

Jessica Mary Ellis is a British poet and children’s writer. She writes poetry for adults and verse fiction for children, and has also shared her poetry with readers online.

Ellis won the 2025 Search for a Storyteller competition, an open-submission initiative run by David Fickling Books in partnership with the Arvon Foundation. Her winning manuscript, When the Birds Wake Up, was subsequently acquired by David Fickling Books as her debut children’s novel.

When the Birds Wake Up is a middle-grade verse novel illustrated by Sophie Burrows. It follows ten-year-old Pear as her family moves to care for her grandmother, who has Alzheimer’s. Alongside changes at home, Pear has to negotiate a new school and bullying, while a rescue dog named Piglet, music and new friendships become important parts of her life.

David Fickling Books is due to publish When the Birds Wake Up in the UK on 10 September 2026. The book is written through verse and incorporates poems, letters and notes into Pear’s story.