PRESIDENT & PUBLISHER

LINDA F. RADKE

Linda F. Radke is the president of Story Monsters LLC and publisher of Story Monsters Ink® magazine. For over 35 years, she has been ahead of the game in producing and marketing award-winning books for all ages. Clients and the media describe Radke as an industry leader in creativity, innovation, and customer service. She has received numerous publishing, public relations, and marketing awards, including being named “Book Marketer of the Year” by Book Publicists of Southern California. Tireless in her efforts to help authors make their dreams a reality, Radke's motto is, “You can't compromise on quality. Do it right or don't do it all!”

Radke's foray into publishing began with a desire to print a how-to book to complement the household employment agency she owned. For Radke, teased on more than one occasion about having "printer's ink in her veins," the experience of publishing the book was exhilarating, which prompted her to change careers without looking back. In 1985, Radke launched Five Star Publications, Inc. She went on to add marketing and publicity services, networking opportunities, and special event coordination with the goal of helping deserving authors achieve visibility.

A former special education teacher for grades K-12, Radke is dedicated to helping kids develop a love for reading and writing. To that end, she created the Story Monsters Approved! book designation program to recognize children’s books that inspire, inform, teach, or entertain. Then, in 2014, Radke published her very first magazine, Story Monsters Ink, which has been named among the “great magazines for kids and teens” by School Library Journal. On the heels of the success of the Story Monsters brand, Radke founded Story Monsters LLC to bring all of her services together under one umbrella in 2016. Today, Radke continues to target and brand the services Story Monsters LLC offers to authors, children, parents, teachers, and librarians with programs such as the Dragonfly Book Award contests, AuthorBookings.com, School Express Press, Story Monsters Teacher of the Year, and more.

Radke is also a member of the Children’s Book Council, Independent Book Publishers Association, The Association for Rural and Small Libraries, and the National Federation of Press Women. Based in Chandler, Arizona, Linda F. Radke is passionate about her work and is invested in serving her community. Radke’s personal hobbies include camping, photography, and enjoying time with her family and their German Shepard, Riley.

LOVE FOR LINDA

"The fun part of writing this syndicated newspaper column is being able to help my readers and meeting good people, like you. In reality, to your clients, you are more than a businesswoman; you are a gift."

— H. Dennis Beaver, Esq., You and the Law, Times Standard

“There is so much good stuff in the marketing plan. It gave me a fresh perspective on things I can/should be doing. The links to awards, bloggers/influencers are invaluable. It saves me so much time researching things. I've started implementing things and am working on some goals for the next 6 months based on it.

I can't tell you how much I've benefited from working with [Story Monsters LLC]. I've been in this industry a long time and have never had the type of collaborative relationship that I have with you and your team. You genuinely care about what's important to me. The quality of the marketing materials your team has done for us and the visibility you've given us through social media are above and beyond what we expected….All the ads, press releases, and email blasts that Story Monsters has created for us have been amazing….Being a small press, it's nice to work with a team that has my back!”   

— Luana K. Mitten, Publisher, BeaLu Books, LLC

“I wanted to take a moment and thank you for all you do, and all that you have taught me and continue to teach me in my author evolution. I had such a magnificent day yesterday at Remington Elementary School in Potwin, Kansas. It was through your willingness to participate in ARSL that I gained the exposure to the librarian who made this happen. I was asked to do a program for kids from Pre-K to 4th grade, and although daunting at first, it was a blast to evolve and stretch! I watch you do that all the time with how you think, and what you continue to do with Story Monsters...I look forward to working together on new and continued projects in the coming months and to stretching and continuing to grow!”

— Pam Saxelby, award-winning author of Josie the Great, Max and Bear, and The Great Grace Escape

“Linda Radke and her team are a great pleasure to work with. On a professional level, they know the 'ins and outs' of book promotion. They don't get stuck. With this team, I learned to expect the unexpected. If one idea didn't work, they would find another one that did. The bottom line: they get results. As an author, I am grateful for what she did, and recommend her services to others who need a winning marketing strategy for their books.”

— John Horvat II, author of Return to Order: From a Frenzied Economy to an Organic Christian Society Where We've Been, How We Got Here, and Where We Need to Go