30 Year Anniversary Celebration
In 2024 Modern Memoirs, Inc. marked several significant milestones, including the 30th anniversary of our company’s founding by retired president Kitty Axelson-Berry in 1994, Director of Publishing Ali de Groot’s 20-year employment anniversary, and the 5-year anniversary of Megan and Sean St. Marie’s purchase of the business. This page documents the special ways we celebrated throughout the year, with high hopes for our company’s future.
In summer of 2024, the staff of Modern Memoirs began to brainstorm the idea of compiling articles from our “Reflections” blog series, in which staff genealogist Liz Sonnenberg interviews some of Modern Memoirs’ former clients, in a beautiful book. The resulting Digital Book, Five Questions: Reflections from Modern Memoirs Authors, published in September 2024, offers insight into our authors’ inspirations, obstacles, and experiences with publishing, from completing first drafts to unpacking finished books. We could not do the work we love without our singular clients, and are glad to honor them by sharing their reflections. We hope Five Questions may inspire readers to undertake the publication of their own books.
MODERN MEMOIRS TIMELINE
This Modern Memoirs timeline presents the history of our full-service private publishing company since its founding in 1994. The business began with the bold vision of founder Kitty Axelson-Berry, whose work documenting her own mother's life story inspired her to help others create and share their memoirs and family histories as heirloom-quality books. Thirty years later, and five years since her retirement, Kitty's passion and expertise carry on in our growing team of devoted, creative, and sensitive publishing professionals. Together we have helped hundreds of writers publish books of all kinds, while maintaining a specialization in memoirs and family histories. Read on to see how we have expanded our range of products and services year after year, dedicated to the principle that everyone has a story worth telling, and grounded by an enduring love of books.
30 Years of Client Testimonials
Distinctive Designs Over 30 Years
A sampler of Commissioned (as-told-to) Memoirs by Modern Memoirs, from new to old
A sampler of poetry and art books by Modern Memoirs, from new to old
A sampler of family history and genealogy books by Modern Memoirs, from new to old
A sampler of early, handbound Modern Memoirs books
A sampler of books created by the non-profit organization The American Tribute Center, co-founded by Kitty Axelson-Berry. The ATC created life-story tributes in honor of victims of the 9-11 attacks through interviews with the victims’ families, who received the books gratis.
Painting the U.S. Map Purple: Locations of Modern Memoirs’ U.S. Authors, 1994–2024
Modern Memoirs is pleased to show our geographic reach in the United States, represented by the purple states on the map below, which we first shared on our social media platforms in January 2024. If you or a writer you know resides in a state we have not yet reached, we hope you will contact us today as we envision painting this entire map purple.
Modern Memoirs Goes Global: Locations of Modern Memoirs’ International Clients, 1994–present
Modern Memoirs is pleased to show our global reach through this infographic, shared on our social media platforms in February 2024. We are proud to have worked with clients based in 9 different countries (and 5 continents, including our US-based clients in North America) throughout our 30-year history. We are eager to expand our reach by helping more writers around the world publish their books and would be especially delighted to work with Australian authors in this special anniversary year.
Our greeting Card Gallery 1994—2024
We are pleased to share this visual archive of greeting cards Modern Memoirs has sent out over the years, including many of our biannual solstice cards. Dating back to 1994, the practice of sending out winter and summer solstice greetings began with our founder, Kitty Axelson-Berry, and it remains a cherished tradition today. In addition to those special cards, you'll also find examples of mailings we created to highlight important milestones in our company’s history, such as the transition to new ownership and our moves into new offices.
