The award was established in 1986. At first the ceremony usually took place at the Prešeren Theatre Kranj. Since 1997 there were several times when it was presented at the Slovene Writers’ Association headquarters or in Cankarjev dom Culture and Congress Centre in Ljubljana instead. In the recent years, the ceremony was accompanied by other activities dedicated to poet Simon Jenko, which included poetry readings, symposium, exhibitions and a celebration of the 140th anniversary of his death.
The most recent winners of Jenko Award are Aleš Debeljak, Andrej Medved and Tomaž Šalamun.