Kennen's first book, Beast, was created during a Master of Arts program in Creative Writing at Bath Spa University.
[citation needed] It was published by Marion Lloyd Books in 2006 and the British librarians named it one of six finalists for the annual Carnegie Medal, which recognises the year's best children's book published in the UK The judges recommended it for readers age 12 and up.
According to their summary, the adventure novel features three children who decide to follow their deceased grandfather's unusual instructions regarding his funeral.
[1] Two years later Kennen made the Guardian Prize longlist again with Bullet Boys, published by Scholastic in 2012 (recommended for ages 14+).
[3] It had been The Guardian newspaper's "teen book of the month" for March, initiated by Anthony McGowan's review and by Kennen's account, "How I wrote Bullet Boys".