From a young age, Anya Kamenetz dreamed of becoming an editor of "the family business," as her parents, both accomplished authors were perpetual writers. Today, Anya is a mom, an award winning Education Correspondent for NPR, author and cohost of "Life Kit:Parenting Podcast from NPR & Sesame Workshop and more.
Imagine your home is abuzz, young inspired graduate students coming and going discussing literature, your parents writing their own works plus editing for others. This is how Anya describes her childhood.
Her parents met while working at John's Hopkins University in Baltimore, Md. Once Anya was born, the family moved onto Baton Rouge, La. where mom and dad both got jobs as writing professors at Louisiana State University. This allowed them to write their own works as well as complete editorial work for others. They taught at LSU for two decades.
Moira Crone, Anya's mother, wrote several fictional novels, often incorporating her childhood memories and experiences from North Carolina . Since her retirement from LSU, Moira, an accomplished visual artist, loves creating and hosting 'Art/Zoom' classes with her granddaughters. She is also a natural psychic and her art truly reflects her connection to her mystic beliefs.
Anya has been working long and hard from a young age and is very accomplished, often keeping others, especially children's issues close at hand. She's reported on everything from technology and education, standardized testing, too much screen time for kids, high costs of education and much, much more.
Check out her most recent book, "The Art of Screen Time: How Your Family Can Balance Digital Media and Real Life." Look for her upcoming book entitled "The Stolen Year"-the year lost to the pandemic.
Anya is compassionate, steadfast and dedicated to helping parents and children overcome their educational, emotional and social challenges. She works tirelessly researching to help solve these problems that we all face.
Best of luck Anya. It was an absolute please hearing about your childhood and your relationship with your mother.