From Newspapering to Book Publishing
Hello and thank you for the virtual visit! For most of my professional life, I was a newspaper journalist working for the Syracuse Herald-Journal and the Detroit Free Press. At both newspapers, I was proud and lucky to be involved with innovative sections that served young people from elementary school students to teen and Gen X readers.
From the mid-1990s to 2017, I worked primarily on Yak’s Corner, a groundbreaking news magazine published by the Detroit Free Press. It was part of a pioneering literacy initiative for elementary students in Michigan.
Through a community foundation grant, the magazine was delivered free to thousands of Detroit public school students for many years. As the program grew, the work we produced became syndicated in a variety of formats, and during its heyday, more than 75 newspapers carried Yak’s Corner content across the country through Knight Ridder and Tribune Media Services.
As challenging times hit the newspaper industry, Yak’s Corner faced changes. Eventually, I left the newspaper but was hired as contract freelancers with my Yak’s Corner team to continue Yakking. At that point, our section was produced by a nonprofit organization that was supported by the Detroit Newspapers.
Over the years, I ventured into book publishing, first with Yak’s Corner and Detroit Free Press projects and later, teaming up with my longtime friend and Yak’s Corner editor, Cathy Collison. We’ve worked on more than a dozen books together, including a picture book, biographies, social studies titles, curriculum guides, and even a cookbook.
We feel like we’re just getting started! Please take a look at some of our titles and be watching for new work. Thanks for reading and visiting my site.