Katie Harnett grew up in Sheffield, UK, graduating with an Illustration BA at the University of the West of England followed by an MA in Children's Book Illustration at Cambridge School of Art in 2015.

Her work was selected to be exhibited in The Illustrators Exhibition at the Bologna Book Fair in 2012 and 2015, where she received the Bologna Children's Book Fair ARS IN FABULA Grant Award.

She is inspired by nature, old movies and photos, patterns, and the work of Cy Twombly, Tove Jansson and Eric Ravilious (amongst many others).

She works using a combination of gouache, watercolour and coloured pencils. Her work has been exhibited internationally, and is included in upcoming exhibitions in Moscow and Beijing.

She now lives and works in Cambridge, where her studio has many feline visitors.