Jill Kandel grew up in North Dakota. She has lived and worked in Zambia, Indonesia, England, and in her husband's native Netherlands.

Her first memoir, "So Many Africas: Six Years in a Zambian Village," (Autumn House Press) won both the Autumn House Press Nonfiction Award and the Sarton Women's Literary Award.

Her second memoir, "The Clean Daughter: A Cross-Continental Memoir, NDSU Press, April 2022.