Jessica Burkhart | |
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| Born | (1987-01-29)January 29, 1987 (age 38) |
| Occupation | Author |
| Education | Florida State University (BA) |
| Genre | Tween,young adult |
| Notable works | Canterwood Crest |
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| www | |
Jessica Ashley[1] (born January 29, 1987),[2] better known by her pen nameJessica Burkhart, is an Americanauthor. Burkhart works primarily in thetween fiction genre, and is the writer of theCanterwood Crest series of novels.
During her childhood, Jessica Burkhart took an interest inequestrianism, and later developed a fondness for writing. Her freelance work was eventually featured in a number of magazines, includingThe Writer. She began college at age 16 and graduated in 2007 with a BA in English fromFlorida State University.[1]
In 2006, she completed a manuscript as part ofNational Novel Writing Month.[3] While browsing Burkhart's blog, a literary agent learned of the novel and offered to read it, which eventually led her to sign the author. Afterward, Burkhart's novel,Take the Reins, went through a series of revisions before being put on submission. In May 2007, she signed a four-book deal withSimon & Schuster.[4] As a result,Take the Reins became the first novel in theCanterwood Crest series—a story about disparate schoolgirls engaged in equestrian competitions at an academy.
Throughout 2008, Burkhart worked on additional books in the series while helping to promote the first one online, largely throughblogging andvlogging. TheCanterwood Crest series was later extended. In 2010, she announced plans to write in theyoung adult genre under her own surname, while maintaining her work in middle-grade fiction.
It was announced in late 2013, Burkhart would be writing another middle-grade series,West Coast Prep. The series follows another set of characters at a riding school in California, and was self-published as eBooks. Burkhart announced plans to continue theCanterwood Crest series with approximately 20 e-novellas.[1]
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