Meena Viswanathan

Reported and wrote a feature on the expansion of the Collierville Burch Library, translating complex planning and development details into an engaging, community-focused narrative. Leveraged storytelling, interviewing, and editorial judgment to highlight the project’s broader impact—positioning the library as a modern civic hub for learning, digital access, and connection. Applied strengths in content positioning and audience awareness to shape the piece for a regional readership, balancing informative reporting with compelling, accessible storytelling.

NPR's Next Generation Radio Project is a 5-day digital journalism and audio training project. The hybrid (some people in-person, some remote) program is designed to give competitively selected participants the opportunity to learn how to report and produce their own non-narrated audio piece and multimedia story. Those chosen for the project are paired with a professional journalist who serves as their mentor for the week.

This project involved researching and interviewing the tourism director of Collierville.

This travel feature won a Gold award from Parenting Media Association with judges applauding the memoir for descriptive writing, satisfying narrative arc, and informative reporting.

This project involved touring, researching, and interviewing directors of special ed schools in the city of Germantown.

This cover story interview profile on children’s author/illustrator Eric Carle won Silver Award from Parenting Media Association.

This Book Review column won Gold Award from Parenting Media Association.

This cover story interview profile on Brian Selznick (Hugo movie) received national recognition from trade organization.

According to children’s author Emilie Buchwald, “Children are made readers on the laps of their parents.” Tennessee First Lady Crissy Haslam agrees. Haslam, a strong advocate for parental involvement in a child’s reading success, launched the Read20 Family Book Club last summer to highlight the importance of early literacy.
The book club encourages children and their families to read aloud for at least 20 minutes a day. One book is selected as Book of the Month, but families can read others, ...

How would it feel to be part of a family brimming with storytellers? Tennessee native Patricia McKissack grew up listening to her grandfather’s stories rich in Southern dialect, her grandmother’s spine-chilling ghost tales, and her mother’s dramatization of Paul Dunbar’s poems. These childhood experiences would greatly influence her own storytelling. Throughout her career, McKissack has explored both familiar and lesser known topics, bringing African-American history to life through family-ba...

Teachers at Overpark Elementary School in Olive Branch recently brought The NED Show in to wrap up the school’s “Be a Buddy, Not a Bully” week. The program served as a complement to the school’s ongoing theme.
The NED Show, a 45-minute character education assembly is produced by All for KIDZ, Inc. The program showcases a cartoon character named NED, an acronym for Never give up, Encourage others, and Do your best. Using humor, storytelling, and lessons with yo-yos and magic tricks, a NED perf...

Anyone who has worked to make a difference in the world using peaceful means owes a debt of gratitude to India's Mahatma Gandhi. He was the first world leader to leverage non-violence instead of war, thus winning freedom for India from centuries of British rule. Many leaders, including Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., adopted Gandhi’s peaceful campaign in their own fight for civil rights.
In this debut picture book set in rural India, Arun Gandhi (the fifth grandson of Mahatma Gandhi) gives a pers...

The other day I was reading Matt de la Peña’s Last Stop on Market Street with my 16-year-old “screenager.” He hardly ever picks a book to read, but after finishing this one, he asked if we owned the picture book.
This was truly a surprise to me! I figured he was in for the visual imagery created by the rhythmic text — “When CJ listened to the man playing guitar and singing on the bus, I felt the magic of music.” Through this extraordinary tale, Matt de la Peña has captured my son’s attention....

Writing is a solitary pursuit. I am always on looking for ways to connect with other writers and experts in the field. So when my editor, Jane Schneider, mentioned she was hosting the Memphis Parent Writers Panel at the Central Library’s Bookstock Festival, I jumped right in.
Bookstock celebrates the writing and sharing of ideas. Each year, the festival features three guest authors, along with 40 local authors and a host of activities for children, teens, and adults alike. The day-long event ...

As New York Times bestselling author Jon Scieszka celebrates the 25th anniversary of his first picture book, The True Story of the 3 Little Pigs, he also launches a new science series targeted to middle-grade readers. His latest book, Frank Einstein and the Antimatter Motor, explores matter.
Frank Einstein loves experimenting with household appliances and creating something unusual, like his two robots, clever Klink and crazy Klank. Grampa Al gives him the freedom to mess with anything (and e...