Jenn Thornhill Verma

Jenn Thornhill Verma is a journalist and landscape painter from Newfoundland and Labrador now living in Ottawa. In 2019, she published her first book, Cod Collapse: The Rise and Fall of Newfoundland’s Saltwater Cowboys, with Nimbus Publishing. Her book features her cover art. In 2020, her landscape art was recognized for best cover (magazine) at the Atlantic Journalism Awards. She was nominated for best profile article at the Atlantic Journalism Awards (2019 and 2020) and as best new magazine writer at the National Magazine Awards (2019). Verma has a master’s of fine arts (creative nonfiction, University of King’s College) and a master’s of science (medicine, Memorial University of Newfoundland) and, in 2020, became a fellow of the Royal Canadian Geographical Society. Jenn wrote and co-produced the animated short-film, Last Fish, First Boat, released in 2020 by McIntrye Media and Canadian Geographic, recounting a story from her book about a fifth-generation fisherman who pivots careers after the East Coast cod fishery collapse. Her work has featured in several national publications such as The Globe and Mail, Reader's Digest, Canadian Geographic, Explore and Maisonneuve and regional outlets such as The Independent, CBC, Saltscapes and Downhome.