About Me | Jess Rinker

Bio

Jess Rinker is a writer for both children and adults whose work explores how we grow, heal, and find meaning through love, community, and personal courage. Grounded in the belief that while the past shapes us, it does not have to define us, her work reflects a deep curiosity about people, place, and the many transformations that shape a life.

She is the author of multiple books for young readers, including picture book biographies: Gloria Takes a Stand: How Gloria Steinem Listened, Wrote and Changed the World; Send a Girl!, about FDNY firefighter Brenda Berkman; middle grade novels: The Dare Sisters series; The Hike to Home; Monolith, and chapter books: Out of Time: Lost on the Titanic and a soon-to-be-announced graphic novel chapter book. She’s currently agented by Jackson Keeler and working on a speculative young adult novel. As you can see, she likes to try everything.

Awards and Recognition

2024 | Awarded Sponsorship to Attend | Rebecca Dykes Writers and Highlights Foundation | Writing Through Trauma to Empower

2024 | First Place | Hunger Mountain: The Katherine Paterson Prize | Novel Excerpt: The Girl in the Window

2024 | Nominated for the Pennsylvania Young Reader's Choice Award | The Dare Sisters

2024 | Nominated for the New Jersey Library Association Children's Book Award | Send a Girl!

2022 | Excellence in Teaching and Learning | Online Course Creation and Teaching: English Composition

2020 | Bank Street College Best Books | Gloria Takes a Stand

2019 | Scholarship | Lehigh Valley Engaged Humanities Consortium | Master Class on Place

2018 | Honorable Mention | Hunger Mountain: Katherine Patterson Prize | Novel Excerpt: The Young Travelers Club

2017 | Writer in Residence | Weymouth Center for the Arts, Southern Pines, NC

2017 | Scholarship to Attend Award | Highlights Foundation, Honesdale, PA |Master Class on Nonfiction

2013/2014 | Academic Scholarships | Short story, Creative Nonfiction | VCFA MFA in Writing for Children and Young Adults

2012/2010 | Writer on the Rise | Warren County, NJ

2011 | Second Place | Amazon Breakthrough Novel Contest | YA Novel: The Dream Recorder

Education

Vermont College of Fine Arts | MFA in Writing for Children and Young Adults

Earned scholarships while attending: Application Merit, Short Story, and Personal Essay awards

Bloomsburg University| BA in Social Welfare

Phi Alpha Honor Society