Britta Jensen’s debut YA novel Eloia Born won the 2019 Writer’s League of Texas YA Discovery Prize and was long-listed for the 2016 Exeter Novel Prize. Reviewers are calling the book “both a dystopian narrative and a quest story; consider it a spiritual successor to Lois Lowry’s The Giver and M. Night Shyamalan’s The Village.” The sequel, Hirana’s War released October 1, 2020. Many of her stories explore themes of persevering through disability, parental separation and the intersection of various cultures on new worlds. Her stories have been shortlisted for the 2017 Henshaw Press and Fiction Factory prizes and she was published in Stories for Homes, Volume 2. Britta’s plays have been performed in New York City, Japan and South Korea. She earned a BA in Acting Performance from Fordham University and an MA in Teaching of English Literature from Columbia University. For the past seventeen years she has taught creative writing and edited books for both traditional and indie authors. She has received numerous awards, including the General Sharp Award from the US Army, for her innovative teaching of creative writing in New York City, South Korea and Germany. Friends often refer to her as a polyglot—which is a product of living twenty-two years overseas in Japan, South Korea, and Germany before settling in Austin, Texas. She enjoys mentoring writers and editing books with The Writing Consultancy and Yellowbird Editors. In her spare time she dances Argentine Tango, sings and volunteers with the Relief Society, SCBWI and the Writer’s League of Texas. Visit her YouTube channel for more insights into her writing process.
The ISBNs for Eloia Born are as follows:
Paperback: 978-1-732-8995-06
Hardback: 978-1-732-8995-13
BACKGROUND ON ELOIA BORN
Eloia Born was released January 2019, won the Writer’s League of Texas 2019 YA Discovery Prize and was long-listed for the Exeter Novel Prize. The novel centers around two blind teenagers who are in love: a girl who’s lost her mother and a boy learning about love. On the remote planet of Eloia, Dex and Leanora live in two worlds that intersect: the world of the seeing and the blind. Leanora alone travels between them. But she hides her limited eyesight from the boy she loves. Then tragedy strikes and Leanora and Dex must trek across Eloia in search of answers while struggling to survive in the harsh wilderness. Leanora’s mother, believed to be dead, has left traces of herself in every community they encounter. Each step of their odyssey takes Dex further away from Leanora and closer to someone new. Caught between her allegiance to their shared history and following her heart, Leanora must decide: is survival more important than love? Eloia Born is the first book in a two-book series. Its sequel, Hirana’s War released in October 2020.
Reviewers have said the following:
“A well-written narrative of disability, dystopia, and exploration, featuring a main character with partial sight. Eloia Born is both a dystopian narrative and a quest story; consider it a spiritual successor to Lois Lowry’s The Giver and M. Night Shyamalan’s The Village. We learn quickly that the people in Leanora’s community are not blind by chance, but by design…”–Nicole Dieker, Discover Reedsy
“This story reminds me of all the things I like so much about Victoria Aveyard’s Red Queen series. It is a story of growth – not everything ends on a happy note, everyone has something to add to the story, and the journey was hard – but such is life. I believe that many young adult readers will find a bit of themselves in this story and perhaps even a desire to “choose kind.” If we can learn to recognize the gifts in others, realize that there is more to life than what we see, and honestly try to understand one another, this world – and our individual lives – could be very different.”–Yalonda Wilhoite, Netzaberg Middle School.
“Eloia Born is more than just a simple love story. It’s about leaving your comfort zones in search of life’s truths. It plays on your emotions and forces you to accept things that you may not want to. It does this wonderfully…I would highly recommend this novel for anyone looking to immerse themselves into a new, beautifully crafted YA world.”–GeanerikC, Goodreads Reviewer
