Ursula Vernon (born May 28, 1977) is an American freelance writer, artist and illustrator.

She studied anthropology at Macalester College in Saint Paul, Minnesota, where she first took art classes.

[3][4] She decided to start using the pseudonym in order to avoid confusion amongst parents who were only familiar with her as a children's book author,[5] and chose it because she loves kingfishers (and as an homage to Ursula K. LeGuin, who once joked that the initials "U.K." could stand for "Ulysses Kingfisher").

[13] A fantasy story featuring an anthropomorphic wombat,[2][14] it is also available in six paperback books published between 2005 and 2011: Vol.

Before becoming a published children's book author Vernon was primarily a freelance artist and illustrator, and she still regularly produces new works of art.

Vernon has also taken commercial commissions such as book covers and game art.

[18][19][citation needed] Vernon has also received the following accolades: Personal websites Socials Catalogs Publishers