Kennedy was born in
Dundee to Edwardene Mildred, a teacher, and
Robert Alan Kennedy, a psychology lecturer. Her parents divorced when she was 13. She attended the fee-paying
High School of Dundee and went on to study for a BA Hons in
Theatre Studies and Dramatic Arts at the
University of Warwick. From 1987 to 1989, Kennedy was a community arts worker for Clydebank District Council. She then went on to a role as
writer-in-residence for
Hamilton and
East Kilbride Social Work Department from 1989 to 1991. Her work there won a special Social Work Today Award in 1990. From 1989 to 1995 she worked on Project Ability, a Glasgow-based visual arts organisation. In 1995 she was a part-time lecturer at the
University of Copenhagen. In 2016, her novel
Serious Sweet was long-listed for the
Booker Prize. In December 2019, along with 42 other leading cultural figures, she signed a letter endorsing the
Labour Party under
Jeremy Corbyn's leadership in the
2019 general election. The letter stated that "Labour's election manifesto under Jeremy Corbyn's leadership offers a transformative plan that prioritises the needs of people and the planet over private profit and the vested interests of a few." In 2020 she began contributing a column on her views of
Brexit to the German daily paper
Süddeutsche Zeitung. Kennedy currently lives in the
Scottish Highlands, having moved from
Wivenhoe and has been an associate professor in
creative writing at the
University of Warwick since 2007, having previously taught creative writing at the
University of St Andrews from 2003 to 2007. By 2006, she had been doing stand up comedy performances in clubs in Scotland. She has performed as a stand-up comedian at the
Edinburgh Fringe and literary festivals. Her main comedy club has been
The Stand Comedy Club in Edinburgh. Her 2023 novel was first published in German rather than in the original English. ==Awards and honours==