Jenkins was born in New York City, and grew up in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and Seattle, Washington. In high school, she attended summer drama schools at Northwestern University and the Children's Theatre Company in Minneapolis. She attended Lakeside School, a private high school in North Seattle. She went to Vassar College, where she studied illustrated books and interviewed Barry Moser for her senior thesis, and she attended graduate school at Columbia University, where she earned a doctorate in English literature.
Writer
Jenkins writes as E. Lockhart for the young adult market. “Lockhart" was the family name of her maternal grandmother. Her first book under her pen name was The Boyfriend List, published in 2005 by Random House Dell Delacorte Press. There are three sequels: The Boy Book (2006), The Treasure Map of Boys (2009), and Real Live Boyfriends (2010); the four are also known, collectively, as the Ruby Oliver novels, after their central protagonist. Another novel for teens, The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks (2008), was a finalist for both the National Book Award for Young People's Literature and the Michael L. Printz Award. We Were Liars made the shortlist of four books for the 2014 Guardian Children's Fiction Prize. The annual prize, judged by British children's writers, recognizes the year's best U.K. published book by a writer who has not previously won it.
Under her real name, Jenkins has collaborated with illustrators to produce children's books and picture books. They have received honors such as the Oppenheim Toy Portfolio Platinum Book Award (the original Toys Go Out, illustrated by Paul O. Zelinsky) and two runners-up for Boston Globe–Horn Book Award (Five Creatures, illus. Tomek Bogacki, and That New Animal, illus. Pierre Pratt).
Works
Children's books by Emily Jenkins
The Secret Life of Billie's Uncle Myron, co-written with her father Len Jenkin (no 's') (Macmillan/Henry Holt BYR, 1996) – "a middle-grade fantasy adventure novel with lots of jokes" OCLC34245145
The Boyfriend List:15 Guys, 11 Shrink Appointments, 4 Ceramic Frogs, and Me, Ruby Oliver) (Random House/Delacorte Press, 2005)
This novel has been suggested as a great novel to co-teach with The Scarlet Letter for high school students.
The Boy Book: A Study of Habits and Behaviors, Plus Techniques for Taming Them (Delacorte, 2006)
The Treasure Map of Boys: Noel, Jackson, Finn, Hutch, Gideon, and Me, Ruby Oliver (Delacorte, 2009)
Real Live Boyfriends: Yes, Boyfriends, Plural, if my Life weren't Complicated, I wouldn't be Ruby Oliver (2010) – Ruby Oliver #4 (senior year), the finale
↑Library of Congress Authorities cites a 2002 phone call to publisher.
123456"FAQ". e.lockhart: iwrite novels (emilylockhart.com). Last updated February 2014. Retrieved 2014-07-16.
↑"How to Be Bad". Donna Freitas. The New York Times. August 15, 2008. Retrieved 2014-07-16. Review of The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks.
↑"about emily". emily jenkins. Retrieved September 30, 2026.
↑"about emily". emily jenkins. Retrieved September 30, 2026.
↑American Library Association (February 3, 2015). "2015 Top Ten Best Fiction for Young Adults". Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA). Archived from the original on February 6, 2015. Retrieved March 9, 2021.
