Cordelia Jensen graduated with a MFA in Writing for Children & Young Adults from Vermont College of Fine Arts in 2012. Cordelia has four verse novels: Skyscraping (Philomel/Penguin) The Way the Light Bends (Philomel/Penguin) and Every Shiny Thing (Amulet/Abrams), which she co-authored with VCFA classmate Laurie Morrison, and a forthcoming Middle Grade Lilac and the Switchback (Holiday House, 2025). Skyscraping was named an American Library Association’s 2016 Best Book for Young Adults, A Los Angeles Public Library’s Best Book for Teens and a 2016 NCTE Children’s Notable Verse Novel. Every Shiny Thing was nominated for the South Carolina Junior Book Award. Cordelia has taught creative writing in a variety of settings: Bryn Mawr College, The Kelly Yang Project, The Writing Barn and The Highlights Foundation. Cordelia is represented by Liza Fleissig at Liza Royce Agency.
“Cordelia [Jensen] did a great job keeping everyone focused, and yet giving feedback to individual questions.”
“Cordelia [Jensen] is succinct, organized, and kind with her critiques. Conveys class content very well with great examples and reading references.”
“Cordelia [Jensen] is a fantastic teacher. Her lectures are thorough and packed with examples, tips, and moments for discussion and reflection; her writing assignments are targeted at the new skills learned and are challenging and fun; and her feedback is generous, insightful, and encouraging.”
“Cordelia’s [Jensen] lectures were jam-packed with information. Her “quick writes” and weekly assignments were well-chosen and inspiring. She fostered collaboration among attendees and provided helpful feedback. She knows her subject inside and out. She studies the verse novel form regularly and brings fresh insight about it.”
“Cordelia’s course was fabulous. She is a generous, kind teacher. Her knowledge about the subject matter is deep. Cordelia took every person’s work seriously and read every submission carefully and thoughtfully. I cannot imagine a better teacher!”
“Cordelia was a sensitive and smart reader of our work in progress, linking it effectively to the material under study. The class offered an interesting, intelligent and indirect way to think about my novel draft. For me it unlocked the work and allowed me to find the momentum and energy I was seeking.”
“Cordelia was an excellent teacher and shared above and beyond and made the whole class experience worthwhile and informative.”
“Cordelia shared an amazing amount of information. There is so little available on Free Verse and I was thrilled to be part of this class.”
“I came into the course with very little knowledge about actually writing a verse novel and employing an image system. I left with a world of information.”
