About Us

Our History

BookWomen grew out of Minnesota Women’s Press, Inc., founded in 1985 by Mollie Hoben and Glenda Martin in St. Paul, Minnesota, to publish the feminist biweekly newspaper called Minnesota Women’s Press.

Attention to women’s literature and readers was always a focus of the newspaper, and early on, Glenda began to offer readers’ groups that met at the MWP offices, reading and discussing a broad range of writing by women. Out of these groups emerged our ongoing, and ever growing, list, The Great Books—Because Women Say So!, which now includes more than 600 titles.

Mollie and Glenda were captivated by the emerging female literary energy of the time, and were interested in connecting with readers from around the country, so in 1996, they created the magazine, BookWomen, which continues to engage a band of loyal readers. 

More than three decades later, Mollie and Glenda handed the reins of BookWomen over to Janet Mazur Cavano, a longtime subscriber and contributor. So while the “offices” of the magazine have moved eastward to New Jersey, the spirit of BookWomen remains – reading women’s words and connecting with kindred spirits around women’s writing.

Alongside her daughter Katharina Cavano, a support network of writers and editors, and of course the occasional helpful nudge from Mollie and Glenda, Janet has committed to continuing BookWomen’s mission and carrying it forward to a new generation of women, writers, and readers.

Our Team

Janet Mazur Cavano,
Owner and Managing Editor

Janet is a writer, editor, and writing instructor. For decades, she’s made the written word the focus of her career and has written for newspapers, magazines, books, and beyond. More recently, she’s shifted towards college-level writing and sharing her love of words with college freshmen. Janet lives at the Jersey Shore with her husband and the cat her daughters left behind, where she enjoys brisk walks along the water and yoga. You’ll recognize her name from her longstanding BookWomen column “Mother Tales,” and, as the new owner of BookWomen, manages the content, editorial direction, and production of each issue.

Katharina Cavano,
Writer and Editor

Kat lives in Washington, DC where she works as a writer in the international development and aid sector. When she’s not writing, she is a yoga and Barre3 instructor, and an avid reader. She’s a regular contributor to BookWomen, and you can find her behind the scenes, providing content and editorial support, and laying out the physical magazines you get in your mailbox. You can read along with Kat on Instagram @whatskatreadingnow. 

Debbie Stoller,
Webmaster

Debbie co-founded and served as Editor-in-Chief of BUST magazine for 30 years, where she was also its web developer. Debbie has been enjoying computer programming ever since she took the very first programming class offered at her high school. She studied Computer Science in college, and holds a PhD in the psychology of gender. She’s also a full-fledged fiber addict, who can be found knitting and spinning yarn when she isn’t working on websites.

Our Founders

Mollie Hoben & Glenda Martin

The two BookWomen founders worked together in one way or another for more than 50 years. Both share a lifelong love of book and reading and over the course of their running BookWomen, shared a variety of roles and activities. While they both gathered content and wrote regularly for the magazine, Glenda was deeply focused on her book groups and reading retreats, while Mollie led Books Afoot trips. 

Ultimately, they created a beautiful community of readers, bringing them together to explore and celebrate women’s words, and a long-lasting legacy.