Meet the faculty of the 2021 Austin SCBWI Writers & Illustrators Working Conference. We’ve asked all our faculty members to answer 4 quick questions so we can get to know them better.
Britta Jensen, Author
Britta Jensen’s YA novel Eloia Born won the 2019 Writer’s League of Texas YA Discovery Prize. The sequel, Hirana’s War released last year. Many of her stories explore themes of persevering through disability, parental separation and the intersection of various cultures on new worlds. For the past sixteen years she has taught creative writing and edited books for both traditional and indie authors. She has received numerous awards for her innovative teaching of creative writing in New York City, South Korea and Germany. She enjoys mentoring writers and editing books with The Writing Consultancy and Yellowbird Editors and is adjunct faculty at St. Edwards University.
Author Britta Jensen
What attracted you to children’s books?
I started out teaching secondary literature and composition and I loved reading as many books as possible so I could recommend them to my students, many of whom were struggling readers, so they could also feel a deep passion for reading and learning.
What’s the best part of your job?
I get to work with a diverse set of authors and stories. I love seeing my authors and students winning prizes, getting promotions, or getting into programs and feeling a part of their success. On the author side of my job, I love writing stories fueled by my diverse and sometimes tragic experiences around the world working with teens.
What’s the most challenging part of your job?
Making sure all the diverse voices I’m trying to capture get equal weight and are believeable.
What’s the best piece of advice you were given that helped drive your career?
Have a flexible mindset and a full heart. Be open to the change that you need to enact so that you can help others get there too.
Come see Britta Jensen at the 2021 Austin SCBWI conference, May 1-2, 2021.