Beverly Jenkins facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Beverly Jenkins
Born	1951 (age 73–74) Detroit, Michigan, U.S.
Occupation	Novelist
Alma mater	Michigan State University
Period	1994–present
Genre	Historical romance, Contemporary romance

Beverly Jenkins, born in Detroit in 1951, is an American author. She writes exciting historical and modern romance novels. Her stories often focus on the lives of African Americans in the 1800s. She was nominated for an NAACP Image Award in 2013. In 1999, she was named one of the top 50 favorite African American writers of the 1900s. This was by the African American Literature Book Club. Beverly Jenkins writes about parts of African American history that are often forgotten. Because of this, it was hard for her to get her first books published. Publishers were not sure how to handle stories about African Americans that were not about slavery.

Jenkins studied at Michigan State University. She focused on Journalism and English Literature. Today, she lives in Southeastern Michigan.

Early Life and Reading Adventures

Beverly Jenkins was born in Detroit in 1951. Her mother was a high school teacher. Her father worked as an administrative aide. Jenkins grew up surrounded by many books and words. Her mother read to her even before she was born. When Beverly was a baby, her mother bought her soft cloth books. Her mother would tell her to "Eat those words, baby. Eat those words."

Jenkins loved to read widely at her local library. She read everything from Alice in Wonderland to Dune. She also enjoyed books by Zane Grey and early romance writers. These included Victoria Holt, Mary Stewart, and Phyllis A. Whitney. Her own writing journey began early. She became the editor of her elementary school newspaper. Jenkins started attending Michigan State University in the spring of 1969.

Becoming a Writer

Jenkins worked full-time in the library at Michigan State University. She worked in the circulation department. During her lunch breaks, she would read articles. These articles were from The Journal of Negro History. This journal is now called The Journal of African American History. Later, Jenkins and her husband moved to Ypsilanti. There, she worked at a pharmaceutical company. She also started writing romance novels just for fun.

A colleague suggested that Jenkins find an agent. She sent her story to Vivian Stephens. Vivian agreed to represent her. Avon published Beverly Jenkins's first novel, Night Song, in 1994.

Bringing History to Life in Books

Most of Beverly Jenkins's books are historical romances. She calls herself a "kitchen table historian." She thinks of American history like a quilt. Some pieces of this quilt, especially minority history, have been torn out. Jenkins uses her books to put these pieces back together. She shares parts of black history that are rarely taught in school.

Topics like slavery and the Civil Rights Movement are important. But they are not the only parts of African American history. For example, her first three novels are Night Song, Vivid, and Indigo. These books feature characters like a schoolteacher and a cavalry officer. They also include a female doctor and heroes of the Underground Railroad. All these characters were inspired by real history.

Jenkins found ideas for her book Forbidden from two interesting historical facts. First, she read about a fancy African American-run hotel. It was found during an archaeological dig in Virginia City. She also heard a story about a man. He saw a black woman walking through the desert. She had a cook stove balanced on her head. Jenkins includes lists of books at the end of her historical romances. This lets readers learn even more if they want to.

Awards and Recognition

Beverly Jenkins has received many awards for her writing. Here are some of them:

• 1996 – Romantic Times Historical Love and Laughter Nominee
• 1999 – Romantic Times Western Historical Romance Winner
• 2000 – Romantic Times Multicultural Romance Winner
• 2007 – Romantic Times Historical Storyteller of the Year Nominee
• 2010 – A Second Helping – Romantic Times Multicultural Fiction Novel Winner
• 2011 – Something Old, Something New – Romantic Times Multicultural Romance Winner
• 2013 – Destiny's Embrace – Romantic Times American-Set Historical Romance Winner
• 2013 – A Wish and a Prayer – NAACP Image Award for Literature Nominee
• 2016 – Forbidden – Romantic Times Historical Romance Winner
• 2017 – RWA Nora Roberts Lifetime Achievement Award