"Most likely to accept "Can you read the next part out loud for the class?" like it's her job."

Jennifer Bush works in an elementary school library helping over 800 PreK-5th grade students locate their next favorite book. Jen’s past work has included coordinating school book fairs for Texas’s leading independent bookstore and shelving children’s books at her public library. She is a member of SCBWI and committed to writing books that children will see themselves in, and that parents, educators and librarians will love to read aloud. Her goal is to write fun, engaging stories that merge heaps of imagination with morsels of real world information. With hometown roots in in Michigan, Colorado and Washington, Jen currently calls Austin, Texas “Home.”

• Craft work

  • SCBWI member

  • Winner: “2020 Carmen Oliver On-the-Verge Annual Austin SCBWI Conference Scholarship”

  • Finalist: “2020 Cynthia Leitich Smith Writing Mentor Award”

  • Participant: 12x12, Storystorm, Write Now! at The Writing Barn

  • Conferences: SCBWI Austin 2020, 2019; TxLA 2019, 2023, 2024; ILA 2018

• Career

  • Current work: Elementary School Library Clerk, Austin Independent School District

  • Recent work: School book fair logistics for BookPeople, Texas’ leading independent bookseller

  • Where it all started: Boulder Public Library

  • Professional career background: Marketing and Public Relations with a focus on writing press and marketing materials, alongside event promotions and production (conventions, arts festivals, concerts, corporate sales/marketing events), to expand brand awareness and support sales goals.

• Education

  • Communications and Creative Writing

• Extracurricular

  • Past-member: Northwest Literacy Foundation, Seattle

  • Volunteer: Active support role in school libraries and classrooms

  • Reading: picture books, early chapter, graphic novels, middle grade, YA, adult, non-fiction, craft books, online industry sources/podcasts.