Dana Misner, '03
Hello, WebstUR takes young readers on a journey across a beautifully animated version of campus, exploding with rich fall foliage, detailed architecture, and modern curricular facilities. WebstUR stops at favorite hangouts like Tyler Haynes Commons, the Greek Theater, and Boatwright Library, where he chats with students, making friends along the way. Ultimately, the Richmond spider ends up at the Robins Center, just in time for the first basketball game of the season.
WebstUR’s journey is a nostalgic one for author and alumna Dana Misner, ’03, who completed a bachelor’s degree at the Robins School of Business.
For Misner, the past 10 years have been robust with life experiences, including graduate school, a budding career in financial services, a move across state lines, marriage, and motherhood. But her connection to Richmond — forged in those four years when she walked in WebstUR’s shoes — is anything but forgotten.
“I absolutely love the University, and that’s been one of the toughest things for me,” says Misner, referring to the distance between her current Connecticut home and her alma mater. “We can’t pop over and feed the ducks at the lake, we can’t just decide to take a walk around campus on a Saturday morning as a family.”
Enter: Mascot Books
“My kids are book nerds just like their mom,” says Misner, who reads to her children, Dylan, 4, and Camryn, 1, three or four times each day. So when her son Dylan chose a book about the Red Sox as his favorite, Misner couldn’t help but take notice.
“As with anything, when my children really like something I’ll look it up a bit more,” says Misner, who typically relays her findings on her parenting blog, Mastering Mommy Brain.
This time, she found Mascot Books, a Virginia-based publishing company that produces children’s books about college mascots and professional sports teams, among other subjects.
Misner discovered that as a local publishing company, Mascot Books was not only familiar with the University, but had been searching for a Richmond alum to write its story.
“I realized it would be a great company to partner with, especially for my first book,” Misner says.
Becoming a published author
“Writing has always been a passion and a hobby of mine,” says Misner, who penned her first story early in childhood. But publishing a children’s book was a first for her.
Misner concentrated on presenting a “clear and updated view” of what the University is really like. She didn’t simplify the language, or alter the student’s activities or behaviors.
“I love books that get into the details so my children ask, ‘What’s that word?’ or ‘Why is that?’,” says Misner, who included her children’s likenesses in the book’s illustration. On page 16, an animated Dylan waves to WebstUR as he crosses the bridge above Westhampton Lake, while a smaller Camryn tosses crumbs from the gazebo to hungry ducks below.
Misner concentrated a great deal on the illustration process, reviewing numerous designers before deciding on the one she felt could best capture the detail, diversity, and splendor of the University.
The book has brought Misner and her children closer to Richmond in other ways, too. They recently returned to campus for a book signing during the UR v. Xavier men’s basketball game at the Robins Center.