Founder of The Writers Nest (an after-school hub for creatives of all ages) and long-time California Poet in the Schools, Karen Benke is the author of four books of writing adventures for children, tweens, teens, adults, and educators. All published by Roost/Shambhala/Penguin Random House: Rip ALL The Pages!, Rip The Page!, Leap Write In!, and Write Back Soon! are used internationally to inspire emerging and reluctant writers to play on and off the page.

Contributors to Karen's books include Neil Gaiman, Wendy Mass, Lemony Snicket, Avi, Annie Barrows, Naomi Shihab Nye, Lucille Cliffton, Jane Hirschfield, Gary Snyder, Natalie Goldberg, and many others.

Translations include: Chinese, Korean, and Russian.