Jessi Cole Jackson grew up in rural Michigan surrounded by lakes, cornfields, and hard-working pragmatists who would never call themselves artists, despite woodworking, sewing, baking, flower arranging, building, drawing, and crafting. Thus, it took her twenty long years to accept that she was, in fact, creative, just as all of her teachers had been telling her all along. But she wasn’t quite ready to admit her true dream of writing and so she studied and pursued a backup career: theatre.
It wasn’t the most practical of day jobs, but every time she tried to leave the industry, she was offered a more interesting position at a more reputable theatre.
Jessi spent twelve years building costumes in various prestigious regional theatres before getting her MFA in Children’s Literature from Hollins University, where she honed her craft and found her people. She’s published various short stories, mentored emerging writers, been a member of SFWA and SCBWI, and is represented by Danielle Burby at Mad Woman Literary Agency.
After living in Cincinnati, DC, Philadelphia, Princeton, and the north shore of Boston, Jessi left theatre and moved back to rural Michigan where she lives with her family, has a very practical day job, and rarely calls herself an artist despite sewing, amateur sculpting, embroidering, and, of course, writing.
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Jessi Cole Jackson 