Writers Integrity Network
WIN is looking for authors from diverse backgrounds who are united by their commitment to democracy.
The strategy is simple: Our series will showcase powerful messages that inspire unity among millions of Americans who reject autocracy. Our booklets will be written by new and published authors like you in such numbers that our series will achieve record-breaking book sales.
The result will disrupt politics through the publishing industry so that our voices can no longer be ignored.
Writers Integrity Network (WIN) is a newly established publishing house created to mobilize writers whose books can unite and equip Americans to confront the current assault on American democracy. WIN was founded by publishing professionals Carolyn Rafferty and Carmen Renee Berry, a New York Times bestselling author.
Meet our Authors
Rabbi Henry Jay Karp
Rabbi Henry Jay Karp is a professor at St. Ambrose University in Davenport, Iowa, teaching courses in Jewish history, with an emphasis on the Holocaust.
Gary Lucks
Gary Lucks, JD is a partner at Bay Law Group and founder of Resistance Action East Bay—Indivisible Group. Gary has become a leading voice in the movement to defend democracy from the threat of autocracy.
Carmen Renee Berry
Carmen Renee Berry, MSW, New York Times bestselling author, has written multiple books on self-care and preventing burnout. Her books have been published by houses including HarperCollins, Simon & Schuster, Penguin, and Thomas Nelson.
Kevin K. Johnson
Kevin K. Johnson is a civil litigation trial and appellate lawyer, awarded the prestigious Martindale Hubbell Legal Rating of "AV Preeminent.” He has a Masters Degree in Political Science from Rutgers University; and a J.D Degree from the University of California, at Davis.
Our Inspiration
The inspiration for launching the Writers Integrity Network was sparked by our discovery of the Writers War Board, a small group of distinguished authors founded during World War II. It quickly grew into a massive effort to rally Americans in the defense of democracy. Led by Rex Stout, author of the Nero Wolfe mystery series, the group included Pearl S. Buck, Oscar Hammerstein II, Langston Hughes, Edward R. Murrow, Eugene O’Neill, and Thornton Wilder.
A year prior, in 1940, a group named America First was launched in response to Japan, Germany and Italy forming the Axis alliance that expanded WWII into a global conflict. Wanting to avoid another major war, Americans of all faiths, political positions, and economic states joined the movement. Many pressured the United States to remain safely isolated—a view supported by politicians, big-money industrialists, and even some great American heroes.
But on December 7th , 1941, 350 Japanese aircraft dropped bombs on the American fleet at Pearl Harbor in Hawaii, killing 2,400 Americans and destroying nearly 20 American ships and over 300 airplanes. The next day the United States entered the war. On December 9th, the Writers War Board was born and by December 11th, America First disbanded, having become distinctly pro-fascist and anti-Semitic.
The bombing of Pearl Harbor
They Burned Books by Stephen Vincent Benet
The Writers War Board gathered over 4,000 members, including journalists, novelists, poets, cartoonists, filmmakers, and other artists. They represented various political extremes, but all held to the notion that America, having now entered the war effort on two fronts, was in it to succeed and needed to unite the populace behind this common cause. To that end, the American public was apprised of the horrors that were instigated by Germany and Japan.
One well-known author on the committee, Stephen Vincent Benet, wrote a radio play entitled, They Burned the Books, bringing attention to the books that had been banned and burned in Nazi Germany. It was first presented on NBC radio on May 11, 1942, and then widely distributed and produced both on radio and on stages around the country.
An author that particularly stands out is Edna St. Vincent Millay. She had been an ardent pacifist, but as she heard about things that were happening in her beloved Europe, she began to wonder if a defensive war was inevitable. She published There Are No Islands, Anymore: Lines Written in Passion and in Deep Concern for England, France and My Own Country. It is one of her classic narrative poems, the kind that made her famous. Neither she nor her publisher, Harper & Brothers, made any profits from the book as all proceeds were donated to a war relief effort.
Edna St. Vincent Millay
Word reached the US that Nazi’s had massacred or imprisoned every person in a village in Czechoslovakia, burning all its structures to the ground and declaring that the town and its people would never be heard of again. Determined that the town of Lidice would not be forgotten, Edna produced a brilliant and heartbreaking narrative poem describing every horrible moment faced by the villagers. The Murder of Lidice was first presented as a reading on NBC radio in New York and then published under the WWB by Harper & Brothers Publishing.
The vision and goal of the Writers War Board was clearly presented in Millay’s final stanza.
Careless America, crooning a tune:
Catch him! Catch him and stop him soon!
Never let him come here!
Think a moment: are we immune?
Oh, my country, so foolish and dear,
Careless America, crooning a tune,
Please think! –are we immune?
The Murder of Lidice by Edna St. Vincent Millay
The Landing at Normandy
Today, we once again face a serious threat to American democracy. In much the same way that Hitler rose to power and expanded his hateful regime across Europe, the current administration is inflicting chaos, fear and hate throughout America. Our goal is to mobilize writers of all varieties across the country to devote their talents to exposing the dangers of authoritarianism and inspire a strong and united resistance movement.
In the same way that America First became a fascist and racially demonizing force in our history, the same mantra stirs similar fear and hatred among this country today. An isolated America is a nation without allies, without a moral center, without the vision our founders gave us through the United States Constitution. WIN is an innovative publishing effort of the Dream a New America movement. We are just beginning, and we invite you to join us as we grow into a united voice for democracy.
About Us
Carolyn Rafferty / Publisher
Carolyn Rafferty has over 40 years of experience in professional media production and distribution. For the last five years, she has transferred her skill set to the publishing industry. Her newest publishing venture is the formation of the Writers Integrity Network. She holds a Master's Degree in Intercultural Communications and has applied that skill set to multiple overseas adventures.
Carmen Renee Berry / Editorial Director
MSW, is a New York Times bestselling author who has authored, co-authored and ghostwritten forty-plus books, selling over a million and a half copies worldwide. Her books have been translated into nine languages and published by houses including HarperCollins, Simon & Schuster, Penguin, and Thomas Nelson. Back in the day, she was on Oprah. Drawing from a career starting in the 1980’s as a social worker, specializing in the prevention and treatment of child sexual abuse, Carmen combined her professional insights with personal experience to write a foundational bestseller on burnout and codependency, When Helping You Is Hurting Me.