John Yewell and Mimi Herman of Writeaways

Writeaways Workshop Leaders Mimi Herman and John Yewell

Published in the June 2018 issue of Books Make a Difference magazine.
She views the world through the eyes of a poet. He constructs scenes with the curiosity of an investigative reporter. As coleaders of their signature Writeaways workshops, Mimi Herman and John Yewell balance differing viewpoints and teaching styles to shepherd a community of writers. Their personalities and writing backgrounds appear so complementary, the pairing seems purposely orchestrated. Their serendipitous relationship is eighteen years strong and growing. [...]
Mary Taris of Strive Publishing

Strive Publishing: Growing Community Uplifts African-American Stories & Dreams

Published in the March 2018 issue of Books Make a Difference magazine.
Mary Taris, founder of Strive Publishing, has a dream to publish children's books and young adult novels that inspire African-American youth to follow their dreams. “Students need books that are contemporary and relatable—books about families that look like them, doing things they do, or things they dream of doing,” she says. “The name Strive Publishing represents the continuous effort and resiliency it takes to turn dreams into reality.” And as her community of supporters grows, Mary is determined to do just that.[...]
Favorite quotes from books

Favorite Quotes From Books

Published in the March 2017 issue of Books Make a Difference magazine.
Writers work so hard to find just the right words. Often, those words spill off the page into readers’ hands and, sometimes, into our hearts. They capture our feelings, stir our desires, push us in new directions, give us reason to pause and consider, and inspire us to keep going. Do you have a favorite line or passage from a book that has struck a chord with your heart? This column shares favorite book quotes. [...]
Karen Pavlicin-Fragnito and Meagan Frank at Book Expo 2016

BookExpo America 2016 Photoblog

Published in the June 2016 issue of Books Make a Difference magazine.
We had a book-loving good adventure at Book Expo America 2016 in Chicago in May, looking for Books Make a Difference stories. Inspired by multi-faceted storytelling—from famous and beloved all-stars to emerging teen authors, singer-songwriters who speak in poetry to 3D multimedia entertainers, publishers focused on social empowerment to satirists empowering citizens through humor, writers born of heartache and perseverance to those who would drop a book deal to keep their point of view—we bring you our #BEA16 photoblog. [...]

A magazine writer and editor for much of her career, Karen writes for and publishes Books Make a Difference online magazine.

She is often asked to write features or columns for various other publications and web sites as well. In this section, you’ll find links to samples of her work.