The presenters will discuss the process of writing narratives based on real-world issues. The focus will be on how the stories come into being, how they are mined, refined, and then redefined into graded readers. We will briefly describe the collaborative process from story development and editing, working with the authors and publisher, and some of the challenges in getting the readers into print. In the second half of the workshop, we will take a look at a new series in development focusing on content that we would like to share with our learners, stories that matter such as unsung heroines, marginalized groups, and people improving the lives of others. While the aim has always been to provide broader perspectives on global topics, we also want to create engaging, light-hearted content that does not compromise our efforts to leave our readers with the sense of humanity we crave in society.