As an author, speaker, writer mentor, and life coach, Jan Kern is passionate about story—not only how we live it with hope and intentionality, but also how we write it with craft and finesse.

She is the author of the Live Free series (Standard Publishing), launched in 2007 with Scars That Wound, Scars That Heal—A Journey Out of Self-Injury, a 2008 ECPA Gold Medallion finalist. In the series, she intertwines a journalistic style with fiction techniques to tell the true stories of teens and young adults who struggle with pain and brokenness.

Jan’s magazine publishing credits have spanned both fiction and nonfiction. She has served on faculty and staff at Mount Hermon Christian Writers’ Conference for more than ten years, including as a mentoring instructor.

For most of her married life, she has served alongside her husband, Tom, at a residential ministry for at-risk youth. When she’s not writing, speaking, or coaching, she enjoys gardening, cooking, hiking, and spending time with her active family.