—CELEBRATING OUR 20TH YEAR—

A b o u t M a y h a v e n P u b l i s h i n g, Inc.

Mayhaven was established in 1990 by Doris Replogle Wenzel

When all seven of her children entered school, Wenzel,went to college to earn a B.A. in English, Speech, and Theater from North Central College (Naperville, IL), and an M.S. in Speech Communications from Illinois State University (Normal, IL). She also attended Northwestern University (Evanston, IL), Eastern Illinois University (Charleston, IL) and the College of DuPage (Glen Ellyn, IL). Mentors in those schools included: Glendon Gabbard, Frank Galati, Lilla Heston, "Doc" Shanower, Dick Eastman, and others. Mentors before and since that time have included Helen Harrington, Wayne C. Temple, and Jack Roche

Wenzel taught Speech Communication and Research/Writing at the University of Illinois (Urbana/Champaign, IL), English, Speech Communication, and Philosophy at Lincoln College (Lincoln, IL), Speech Communication, English, and Theater at the College of DuPage (Glen Ellyn, IL), and English and Speech Communication at Parkland College (Champaign, IL).

Other work has included, journalism, landscaping, advertising, banking, and of course, babysitting and housework.

She left two positions, banking and teaching, to create Mayhaven Publishing. Since that time she has published nearly 240 books and audio books, both fiction and nonfiction, for both adults and children.

She founded Mayhaven's Awards for Fiction and Mayhaven's Awards for Children's Fiction (in manuscript form) in 1997. Winners receive publication and royalties. She plans to offer the awards again in 2111. Two winners (Susan McBride and Adam Freedman) have now published for Avon Books and for Holt and Co.

Several books published by Mayhaven have won awards, and others have been nominated for awards, including The Lincoln Prize and The Pulitzer Prize.

Wenzel is the youngest of the ten sisters (Ten Sisters: A True Story). Four journalists have won awards writing about the ten sisters, and two PBS documentaries have been made about them, all based on the book. The first documentary (a segment of Prairie Fire, a PBS series) won a Gracie Allen Award for Short Documentaries. The second, a full-length documentary ("Ten Sisters: A True Story") was produced by PBS in 2007 and can still be seen on a number of PBS stations across the country. It is also available as a DVD from PSB. An audio, Ten Sisters: A True Story, is, read by each of the sisters, and a children's book, Ten Little Sisters are available, along with the 5th edition of Ten Sisters. Family Circle magazine also carried a wonderful article on the Ten Sisters after one of the editors saw the sisters speak at an outdoor event.

Several other magazines have carried articles on Mayhaven publications, including Cosmopolitan magazine and Weston magazine.

While an undergrad at North Central College in 1981, Wenzel won a Richter Fellowship and researched and wrote a foot-noted play on the life of Mary Todd Lincoln (Without Discretion). She received the Lincoln Academy Award and the play (in three acts) was produced at North Central College. In 1984, at the request of The Chicago Playright's Center, she wrote a 2-act version of Without Discretion for a staged reading. A staged reading of the 2-act version was also produced at the Early American Museum (Mahomet, IL) in the fall of 2009.

Three of Wenzel's children have published books, and several have been actively involved in Mayhaven. Son Quintin Porter is the Audio Director and Producer.

Wenzel is a member of the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists, and a member of Pen USA. She has served on the Board of the Abraham Lincoln Museum in Harrodsburg, TN, and is an active Rotarian in Urbana, IL.