Beverly Jenkins was born in 1951 in Detroit. She is an American author who writes historical and contemporary romance novels. Her books often focus on the lives of African Americans during the 19th century. In 2013, she was nominated for a NAACP Image Award. In 1999, she was named one of the Top 50 Favorite African American writers of the 20th century by the African American Literature Book Club. Jenkins believes that the time period she writes about is often ignored in historical stories. This made it hard for her to begin publishing her work because some publishers were unsure how to handle stories about African Americans that did not involve slavery. Jenkins studied Journalism and English Literature at Michigan State University. She currently lives in Southeastern Michigan.
Early life
Jenkins was born in Detroit in 1951 to her parents, a high school teacher and an office helper. Jenkins grew up around books. Her mother read stories to her while she was still in her mother’s womb and gave her books made of fabric when she was a baby. Jenkins would chew on the fabric books while her mother told her, "Eat those words, baby. Eat those words." Jenkins read many different books at her local library, such as Alice in Wonderland, Dune, Zane Grey, and works by early romance writers like Victoria Holt, Mary Stewart, and Phyllis A. Whitney. Jenkins began writing when she became the editor of her elementary school newspaper. She attended Michigan State University in the spring of 1969.
Career
Jenkins worked full-time at the checkout area of the Michigan State University library. Every lunch hour, she read articles from The Journal of Negro History (now called The Journal of African American History). Later, Jenkins and her husband moved to Ypsilanti, where she worked at the reference desk of Parke Davis Pharmaceuticals and began writing romance novels for fun. After a colleague suggested she find an agent and publisher, Jenkins sent her manuscript to Vivian Stephens, who agreed to represent her. Avon published her first novel, Night Song, in 1994.
Although Jenkins has written books in many types of romance stories, most of her books are historical romances. Jenkins calls herself a "kitchen table historian." She compares American history to a quilt with some pieces missing—the pieces that belong to minority history. Jenkins uses her books to add those missing pieces by sharing stories of Black history that are rarely taught in school. Slavery and the Civil Rights Movement are important parts of African American history, but they are not the only parts. For example, her first three novels, Night Song, Vivid, and Indigo, include characters like a schoolteacher, a cavalry officer, a female doctor, and Underground Railroad heroes. These characters were inspired by real people from history.
Jenkins found inspiration for her book Forbidden from two historical events. First, she read a news article about a high-end African American-run hotel discovered during an archaeological dig in Virginia City. She also heard a story about a man who saw a Black woman walking through the desert with a cook stove balanced on her head. Jenkins includes lists of books with her historical romances so readers can learn more, if they choose.
Awards
- 1996 – Nominee for Romantic Times Historical Love and Laughter
- 1999 – Winner of Romantic Times Western Historical Romance
- 2000 – Winner of Romantic Times Multicultural Romance
- 2007 – Nominee for Romantic Times Historical Storyteller of the Year
- 2010 – Winner of Romantic Times Multicultural Fiction Novel for A Second Helping
- 2011 – Winner of Romantic Times Multicultural Romance for Something Old, Something New
- 2013 – Winner of Romantic Times American-Set Historical Romance for Destiny's Embrace
- 2013 – Nominee for NAACP Image Award for Literature for A Wish and a Prayer
- 2016 – Winner of Romantic Times Historical Romance for Forbidden
- 2017 – Recipient of RWA Nora Roberts Lifetime Achievement Award