Celia Jenkins

Born and raised on the beautiful island of Guernsey (Channel Islands, UK) I spent much of my time there with a pen in my hand – there is something about small, quiet places that I have always found conducive to writing. Enjoying a quality education at the Guernsey Grammar School and Sixth Form Centre, I moved to Bath (UK) where I studied creative writing at Bath Spa University (1st class hons, 2011).

 

Since graduating I spent five years living abroad and working as an English teacher and freelance writer. I spent two-and-a-half years in China, mostly around Shanghai in the cities of Hangzhou and Suzhou. Then I moved to Japan where I spent three months in the heaving metropolis of Tokyo, then on to Kumamoto (Kyushu) where I lived for over two years. I am TEFL qualified, have a TKT certificate and experience teaching people of all ages and abilities, though I specialise in younger learners.

 

My freelance writing has been focussed on travel writing and general article writing for the past few years, and I have recently had more commissions for ghostwriting stories for children and creating educational materials. I freelance on Upwork for a number of regular and one-off clients. In 2017 I published my first collection of knitting patterns for beginners, and the first book in a series of bilingual picture books called Ben and Maki. I'm also always dabbling in some sort of fiction or poetry, particularly writing for children.

 

In 2007 I was nominated for the pilot scheme of the Young Man Booker Prize, and in 2009 my poetry was shortlisted for publication in the highly esteemed Mslexia magazine. In 2010, as part of the Daily Poem, I had my work published through the Bath Literature Festival.

 

I'm looking forward to a future filled with many more writing opportunities, I hope to publish several ebooks of knitting patterns for beginners, to write more bilingual children's books as well as novels for both adults and children, and to squirrel myself away on some quiet little homestead where I can write in peace and quiet.