I’ve been writing on and off for a long time, but at school I was certainly not a proficient writer. No one said I’d be a writer one day. I trained as a teacher and then became a teacher of deaf children, but it was not until I had stopped teaching that I started writing.

It was when Jessica, my granddaughter, was born that I began writing children’s stories. Since then, I have written poems, short stories, novels, and picture books. Some of these you will find on this website.

One of the things I love to do is to visit schools and talk about writing and reading. I also show how to get started with your own stories. There are so many ways to get started, and so many ideas that you can use. Have a look at the page about Arthur, and you will see there how many different ways you can write the same story too, until you find the one that you like the most.

Author Talks

Jenni Francis is available for author talks anywhere in New Zealand. Jenni trained as a primary teacher and then went on to do special education and taught deaf children in the classroom and as an itinerant for 10 years. She has taught at all levels, from kindergarten through to tertiary. She continues to tutor in reading and mathematics.

Jenni loves to read her stories to children, and encourages them to see the stories in their own lives. She can give writing workshops and can prepare lesson plans to assist teachers in their classroom programmes.

Jenni’s books can be available for purchase through the school on the day of the talk, with a percentage of sales going to the school library.