A former newspaper journalist, Jenkins was an accomplished writer of prose. In 1996, he won the Wales Book of the Year prize for his travel book "Gwalia in Khasia" (1995) – the story of the Welsh Calvinistic Methodists' Mission to the Khasi Hills in north-east India (1841–1969). Jenkins also edited an accompanying anthology of poetry and prose from the Khasi Hills, entitled "Khasia in Gwalia". In 2001, Gomer Press published a selection of his essays and articles as "Footsore on the Frontier" and, in 2008, "Real Swansea" – the first of his three contributions to Seren's series of psychogeographic guide books – was released to much acclaim. A second volume ("Real Swansea Two") was published in 2012, followed by a third, posthumous volume in 2014 ("Real Gower"), completing an unintended trilogy.