Getting books in children's hands

Me: Tell us a little bit about yourself and Operation Literacy.
Jennifer: Operation Literacy started with just a group of friends in my writer's group and we wanted to give back to the community in a meaningful way. I think a lot of people can relate to that. There are a lot of great big hearts out there that want to do good and to use their talents to benefit others in a philanthropic way.

In 2009, we pitched a writer's conference for teens to Utah Valley University and for some reason they thought it was a great idea and that we were the right people to do it. I still kind of laugh at that because at the time no one in our writer's group had been published, we had no credentials, and we had no experience running a conference. We just had an idea, and it went very well. Our first Teen Author Boot Camp had 130 teens and it grew to 1,000 teens every year and became one of the biggest conferences of its kind in the country.

So, Operation Literacy started with a conference and has since expanded to a national organization dedicated to promoting children's literacy.

Me: As part of that expansion, you started your Book Drop program. What's that all about?
Jennifer: Our Book Drop program brings authors to title one schools and donates a free book signed by the author to every child in the school. I'm constantly writing grants and working to get funding in place to provide these books and experiences to kids. And at the event, the author gets the honor of telling the kids they all get a book for free. It's like Santa Claus. It's so great. If you're ever sad, I can send you a video of all these kids screaming because they get a free book. It will warm your heart.

There are a lot of other great programs that give away books, but I think the element of marrying the book giveaway with the author visit is really important.

Me: If someone wants to sponsor or donate funds for Book Drop, how do they contact you?
Jennifer: We have a form on our website, but a lot people just email me directly.

Me: This coming February you're launching a new conference called Story Con. Can you tell us a little about that?
Jennifer: Story Con is a facelift of Teen Author Boot Camp. It's two days instead of one. Similar to Teen Author Boot Camp we have all of these industry professionals and bestselling authors coming. The lineup is insane. We have Neal Schusterman, Brandon Mull, Marissa Meyer, Dhonielle Clayton, Shannon Hale, Leuyin Pham, Lainey Taylor, Jeff Kinney, Margaret Peterson Haddix, Jennifer Nielsen, Christopher Paolini and other huge keynote worthy authors.

We'll still have a teen track with all the fun of Teen Author Boot Camp, plus a tween track, a general admission track for the lay human or parents whose teens have been bugging them to come, and an educator track that provides college graduate credits for educator step up. Also, educators can get a free pass with every 10 students they bring to the conference. Plus, there's a free story track that allows anyone to come to the exhibit vendor hall where people can meet authors, visit vendors such as DragonSteel, explore the artist alley, and enjoy fandoms and storytelling.

Me: Can you tell me about the books you've authored.
Jennifer: My debut Lingering Sea series is a mystic Mediterranean fantasy with witchcraft and pirates. The first book of that trilogy is called To Kill a Curse. My next fantasy trilogy called Nameless is about a girl who infiltrates an enemy clan as a spy and ends up falling in love with an enemy soldier. I also have a standalone fantasy called A Necessary Madness and a nonfiction book called The Teen Writer's Guide: Your Roadmap to Writing.

The above has been edited for length. To see and hear the rest of the interview and get even more details about Operation Literacy, watch the full interview at www.kenbakerbooks.com/expert_jennifer_jenkins.html

To learn more about Operation Literacy, visit www.storycon.org/ourstory
To learn more about Jennifer Jenkins, visit www.authorjenniferjenkins.com/