Jennifer Kingsley

is a journalist & storyteller who specializes in personal stories from around the world

Writer & Producer

Jennifer Kingsley is a National Geographic Explorer, an award-winning journalist, and a fellow of the Royal Canadian Geographical Society

See Jenny’s portfolio

About

Jennifer’s work is founded in courage, intuition, and creativity. She believes in the power of personal stories, and she’s traveled the world the find them. She works solo and as part of a team. Read more about Jennifer.

Journalism

Jennifer has founded projects to build cultural understanding through storytelling, and to learn about our planet from its people. Meet the North took her to six Arctic nations over three years. Then she went to the South Pacific.

Paddlenorth

Paddlenorth: Adventure, Resilience, and Renewal in the Arctic Wild, Jennifer’s first book, won the National Outdoor Book Award. It’s the story of her 54-day Arctic canoeing expedition. More about Paddlenorth.

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Bright blue ocean horizon with clouds.

A year in the blue

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Voyaging
I spent much of this past year floating on the Pacific Ocean and studying its stunning shades. My friend Alexandra and I started an Ocean Appreciation Club. An Olympic swimmer gave me swimming lessons in the Coral Triangle. I dove into 11,000 meters of water above the deepest known part of the Earth’s seabed. I listened to…
Tua and Jennifer pose for a selfie.

The power of invitation

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Voyaging
My research has attuned me to the power of invitations. They make us feel seen, included, valued, and welcome. They are free and low risk! So who could you invite to dinner, to the dinner table, to a weekend adventure, to a phone call or a cup of tea? Perhaps someone outside of your norm.
A woman singing on her porch.

Listening is the best gift

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Updates
I’ve just spent five weeks in Tahiti and the Cook Islands with Master Navigator Tua Pittman, and I’ve been learning to write biography. I spent many hours listening to one person tell his story, and during this month – more than any other time in my career – listening opened me to new worlds. 
Two people on a ship's deck at nigh looking at stars.

Navigating by the stars

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Voyaging
I’m headed back to Polynesia for a crash course in Traditional Polynesian Voyaging and to document the life story of Master Navigator Teuatakiri (Tua) Pittman who has traveled over 60,000 nautical miles without charts, compass, or any of the instruments familiar to many of us.
Silhouettes of faces

Can I change your mind?

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Updates
At some level, stories are about influencing people, but the results of our stories are not always tangible. That changes when it comes to vaccination and our ability to get individuals to take the shot, or not. I learned a lot on this subject from This American Life‘s episode “The Herd,” especially Act Two “The…
A wave breaks on the ocean

Climate storytelling at Georgetown University

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Updates
I’m teaching a class in climate storytelling at Georgetown University this week.  I remember the day someone suggested I was avoiding climate change in my work, perhaps because I have rarely made it the main focus of my stories. I reflected on that feedback for a long time before I could articulate how personal stories…