Katherine Leiner - Writer Home Page
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So good of you to visit!

I have been writing since I was six years old. My first published poem appeared in the magazine Jack and Jill around that time. Seeing my work in print was exciting. It was as if what I had to say was important. I hoped others might read it and get either pleasure or comfort. I began by writing non-fiction for children. I believed some child might pick up one of my books, the way I had picked up, say They Were Strong and Good by Robert Lawson and a certain kind of life would open up for that child – the same way books had opened adventures and possibilities for me, giving me glimpses of something I would otherwise not have seen.

Through the years I have learned that writing is satisfying on so many levels. It is inventive and analytical. It's both enormously private and totally revealing. Besides cooking and child rearing, writing seems to be the only work that has held my fascination and attention over time. I come to my writing in much the same way I do to cooking - without too many rules. For me, both involve a certain amount of careful study, going out in the world, seeing what is fresh and inspiring to the mind and palate, gathering ingredients, bringing them back home, putting them together, mixing, marinating, seasoning, and tasting. Sometimes the meal works from "soup to nuts," as my mother used to say; and sometimes it doesn't. When it doesn't work - I re-work it, refine it, sometimes throw it out and start again.




GROWING ROOTS: The New Generation of Sustainable Farmers, Cooks and Food Activists
A cross-country view of the faces and stories behind the sustainable food movement. Also included are more than 150 simple recipes and photographs that serve up generous portions of hope and mindful action. A book for everyone who cares about the earth and about feeding the people we love!  MORE

DIGGING OUT - A NOVEL
A profoundly moving story that spans past and present, Wales and California, disaster and recovery. The characters become so real it's like having a new family... MORE

MAMA DOES THE MAMBO
Sofia loved to watch her parents dance, her father's back straight and strong, her mother's skirts whipping a million lights. But Papa's been gone a long time now, and Sofia is beginning to wonder if she'll ever see her beautiful mama dance again... MORE

FIRST CHILDREN
Meet seventeen first families in this intimate look at the delights
and dilemmas of growing up in the Executive Mansion... MORE

HALLOWEEN
Halloween is an evening of magic and illusion for children of all ages. In this collection, Leiner has gathered photographs by some of the best photographers working in the medium today... MORE