Write Volumes is a group of eclectic writers who are passionate about viewing the world through varying perspectives, ideas, and thoughts. Writing is a way to understand, inspire, and transform ourselves and possibly others which we can try to do in volumes-- in the sense of decibels or quantity. Please join us in engaging the world through reading and writing. Together we are and can Write Volumes.
Random stuff by and about me.
Fly Mommie Blog
by @QUINKENZO
January 26, 2018
by @QUINKENZO
January 26, 2018
Tell us a little about yourself?
My Instagram (@iamkarenbrailsford) bio pretty much sums it up: Writer. Spiritual Therapist. Intuitive Creator. Proud Mama. Delighting in all things synchronistic, magical and miraculous.
What excites you most about Motherhood? Read MORE →
My Instagram (@iamkarenbrailsford) bio pretty much sums it up: Writer. Spiritual Therapist. Intuitive Creator. Proud Mama. Delighting in all things synchronistic, magical and miraculous.
What excites you most about Motherhood? Read MORE →
Your Issue Here: Working With Hollywood to Deliver Your Message to Millions
I spent six months researching, reporting and writing this guide targeting non-profits desirous of promoting their causes in film and television storylines and funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.
I spent six months researching, reporting and writing this guide targeting non-profits desirous of promoting their causes in film and television storylines and funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.
| Your Issue Here.pdf |
Click for Entertainment Weekly's story about the Essence article
Celebrating Mom
May 2012
The Superhero: Karen Brailsford
After being cast as Rue in The Hunger Games, rising star Amandla Stenberg is on everyone’s radar. With so much attention, the 13-year old says her mom is key.
May 2012
The Superhero: Karen Brailsford
After being cast as Rue in The Hunger Games, rising star Amandla Stenberg is on everyone’s radar. With so much attention, the 13-year old says her mom is key.
My mom reminds me that all things are possible. If I'm feeing unsure, she'll say, "Hey! You're Rue!" Within months after reading The Hunger Games, I went from telling my mom I could see myself as this character to actually getting the role. My mother reminds me that if I could manifest such an important role because I wanted it so much, all of my dreams are possible. I once made a cartoon drawing of my mom as a superhero. I called her Karen Possible. It still hangs on her office bulletin board. Read MORE →
Should Kids See The Hunger Games?
With Michele Martin
April 12, 2012
With Michele Martin
April 12, 2012
The violent theme of The Hunger Games incited lots of controversy. As Rue’s mom, I had something to say on the matter. Click the NPR logo to listen in. Read STORY →
Hungry for More About The Hunger Games? A Q&A With Amandla Stenberg ( AKA Rue)
by Karen Springen
January 19, 2012
My former Newsweek colleague wrote this piece and I shot the photo which was later published in a communications textbook. Read STORY →
by Karen Springen
January 19, 2012
My former Newsweek colleague wrote this piece and I shot the photo which was later published in a communications textbook. Read STORY →
So Not Lindsay Lohan: How to Raise A Child Star
February 21, 2011
I'd forgotten that I can be seen hovering nearby in this photo of Amandla with director Olivier Megaton on the set of Colombiana, her very first film. I wrote about the experience for this mommy blog. Update: Zoe Saldana was amazingly sweet and cool. Read BLOG →
February 21, 2011
I'd forgotten that I can be seen hovering nearby in this photo of Amandla with director Olivier Megaton on the set of Colombiana, her very first film. I wrote about the experience for this mommy blog. Update: Zoe Saldana was amazingly sweet and cool. Read BLOG →
Author, Author
Michael Chabon and Ayelet Walman
December 16, 2002
I spent the day in Berkeley, CA, with the literary world's dynamic duo of Pulitzer Prize winner Michael Chabon and Ayelet Waldman, arriving in time to watch her whip up pancakes for their children. At the end of a very long day, he signed and presented a copy of "Summerland," his new novel, to Amandla. Read STORY →
Michael Chabon and Ayelet Walman
December 16, 2002
I spent the day in Berkeley, CA, with the literary world's dynamic duo of Pulitzer Prize winner Michael Chabon and Ayelet Waldman, arriving in time to watch her whip up pancakes for their children. At the end of a very long day, he signed and presented a copy of "Summerland," his new novel, to Amandla. Read STORY →
Open Book
Anne Lamott
November 25, 2002
The author of Bird by Bird and Operating Instructions is a wizard at showing us how to observe, write and live fully. What I gained from my extraordinary afternoon with her? A deep appreciation for her engaged, engaging soul—and for Wheat Thins, which she nibbled on throughout our interview. Read STORY →
Anne Lamott
November 25, 2002
The author of Bird by Bird and Operating Instructions is a wizard at showing us how to observe, write and live fully. What I gained from my extraordinary afternoon with her? A deep appreciation for her engaged, engaging soul—and for Wheat Thins, which she nibbled on throughout our interview. Read STORY →
Shock Waves
Alice Sebold
August 12, 2002
Lovely cover, devastating story. Seven years before Alice Sebold's debut novel The Lovely Bones became a movie starring Saoirse Ronan, Mark Wahlberg, Rachel Weisz and Stanley Tucci, I sat down with Sebold at her home in Long Beach, CA. Read STORY →
Alice Sebold
August 12, 2002
Lovely cover, devastating story. Seven years before Alice Sebold's debut novel The Lovely Bones became a movie starring Saoirse Ronan, Mark Wahlberg, Rachel Weisz and Stanley Tucci, I sat down with Sebold at her home in Long Beach, CA. Read STORY →
Secrets to Date By
by Jula Jane
February 7, 2008
(one week before Valentine's Day, naturally)
I edited this book. It was fun. And the cover really popped. I have nothing more to say, except for this: My favorite chapter title is "Match.con."
by Jula Jane
February 7, 2008
(one week before Valentine's Day, naturally)
I edited this book. It was fun. And the cover really popped. I have nothing more to say, except for this: My favorite chapter title is "Match.con."
Make A Joyful Noise
Rev. Matthew Fox
April 14, 1997
Rev. Matthew Fox, not to be confused with the actor from Party of Five and Lost , is a very generous and gracious soul. How do I know this? Twenty-three years after I profiled him for People, he agreed to read Sacred Landscapes of the Soul and write a blurb for it. Talk about divine orchestration. Read STORY →
Rev. Matthew Fox
April 14, 1997
Rev. Matthew Fox, not to be confused with the actor from Party of Five and Lost , is a very generous and gracious soul. How do I know this? Twenty-three years after I profiled him for People, he agreed to read Sacred Landscapes of the Soul and write a blurb for it. Talk about divine orchestration. Read STORY →
Hollywood Blackout
March 11, 1996
I was a member of the team that produced People's 1996 headline-generating special report. We called some 130 sources to discuss the lack of representation in Hollywood. When we returned to the topic five years later, not much had changed. And as many strides have been made since, one could argue the same is true a quarter-century later.
Read STORY →
March 11, 1996
I was a member of the team that produced People's 1996 headline-generating special report. We called some 130 sources to discuss the lack of representation in Hollywood. When we returned to the topic five years later, not much had changed. And as many strides have been made since, one could argue the same is true a quarter-century later.
Read STORY →
Babies Who Have Babies Special Report
October 24, 1994
Babies Having Babies: Five Years Later
October 11, 1999
This image will forever be etched in my mind: The teen mother I was assigned to cover is sitting cross-legged on her living room floor. Propped up by a colorful Boppy pillow and nursing on each breast is a baby. Twin girls. How's this for perspective? When I visited the young mother fiver years later, my daughter was a year old and I was in my my mid-thirties. A 16-year old Jamie Lynn Spears would give birth eight years later. The reality series Teen Mom was a decade away. Read STORY →
October 24, 1994
Babies Having Babies: Five Years Later
October 11, 1999
This image will forever be etched in my mind: The teen mother I was assigned to cover is sitting cross-legged on her living room floor. Propped up by a colorful Boppy pillow and nursing on each breast is a baby. Twin girls. How's this for perspective? When I visited the young mother fiver years later, my daughter was a year old and I was in my my mid-thirties. A 16-year old Jamie Lynn Spears would give birth eight years later. The reality series Teen Mom was a decade away. Read STORY →
In His Father's House
Andraé Crouch
October 23, 1995
Spending time with THE Andraé Crouch, whose songs I sang as a child on the Sunbeam Choir at Fort Motte Baptist Church, was a revelation. Read STORY →
Andraé Crouch
October 23, 1995
Spending time with THE Andraé Crouch, whose songs I sang as a child on the Sunbeam Choir at Fort Motte Baptist Church, was a revelation. Read STORY →
The Wainscott Weasel
by Tor Seidler
Illustrated by Fred Marcellino
November 14, 1993
"It's just possible that not since a spider named Charlotte saved a pig named Wilbur from the slaughterhouse has there been a more tender tale of interspecies love and devotion." And I loved the illustrations, too. Read REVIEW →
by Tor Seidler
Illustrated by Fred Marcellino
November 14, 1993
"It's just possible that not since a spider named Charlotte saved a pig named Wilbur from the slaughterhouse has there been a more tender tale of interspecies love and devotion." And I loved the illustrations, too. Read REVIEW →
Spike Lee
November 1992
I talked to Spike Lee about his then upcoming film Malcolm X for Interview magazine. A silly moment: He teased me about my key chain, statuette I'd gotten in Africa. "That's a fertility symbol. You'd better be careful!" he warned me. "That stuff works." Read STORY →
November 1992
I talked to Spike Lee about his then upcoming film Malcolm X for Interview magazine. A silly moment: He teased me about my key chain, statuette I'd gotten in Africa. "That's a fertility symbol. You'd better be careful!" he warned me. "That stuff works." Read STORY →
Last Summer With Maizon
by Jacqueline Woodson
July 29, 1990
At the end of my New York Times Book Review of this 1990 debut novel, I enthused, “Let’s hope Jacqueline Woodson’s pen writes steadily on.” Thirty-three books later, Woodson won The Hans Christian Andersen Award, the highest in children’s literature. Read REVIEW →
by Jacqueline Woodson
July 29, 1990
At the end of my New York Times Book Review of this 1990 debut novel, I enthused, “Let’s hope Jacqueline Woodson’s pen writes steadily on.” Thirty-three books later, Woodson won The Hans Christian Andersen Award, the highest in children’s literature. Read REVIEW →
Black & White: How Integrated is America?
March 7, 1988
Recently I felt compelled to order a copy of this issue of Newsweek, which I reported. It arrived the day of George Floyd's memorial service in Minneapolis. As I turned the pages, memories began to flood my awareness. The subtitle for the lead story reads "Twenty years after the murder of Martin Luther King, blacks have gained a fragile new middle class and a troubled 'underclass,' while the civil-rights movement itself has fallen into a neglect that hurts everyone". Sidebars included stories on IBM, an affirmative action "success story," and a closing piece written by Jonathan Alter and reported by Karen Springen and yours truly entitled "Why We Can't Wait Any Longer: Arguments heat up about how best to confront the despair of the underclass."
