Jessica Palmer (born 1953) is an American author who writes science fiction, fantasy, mystery and horror. She also has written nonfiction under her full name of Jessica Dawn Palmer. Her mother was a professional clown who went under the name of Mar-jo and has a plaque in the Clown Hall of Fame. Palmer was born in Chicago, Illinois. She initially studied psychology and nursing. Her works have been translated into Norwegian, Japanese, Italian, Russian and Romanian. Her novellas were released in the Netherlands. Dark Lullaby was nominated for the Bram Stoker Award for best first novel in 1989. Palmer was listed in Starburst magazine’s SF Top 200 in 1999 and Germany's Horror Lexicon published in 2001.