Marcia Meier is an author, journalist, teacher, published poet and former director of the Santa Barbara Writers Conference.
She is the author of the forthcoming Navigating the Rough Waters of Today's Publishing World, Critical Advice for Writers from Industry Insiders (Quill Driver Books, 2010) and Santa Barbara, Paradise on the Pacific, a coffee table book published in 1996 by Longstreet Press in Atlanta.
She has freelanced or written for numerous publications, including the Los Angeles Times, Santa Barbara Magazine, Central Coast Magazine, OC Metro magazine, the Seattle Times and Arizona Republic. She is a contributing writer to Miller-McCune Magazine online and a frequent blogger with The Huffington Post.
Before joining the writers conference in 2004, Marcia was director of college communications for a small, liberal arts college, where she was responsible for marketing and community and media relations. She also taught the college’s journalism course and advised the campus newspaper for six years.
A print journalist for more than 20 years, Marcia worked for four daily newspapers in the roles of reporter, copy editor, assistant city editor and editorial page editor. She was with the Santa Barbara News-Press for nearly 10 years, and served as editorial page editor for most of that time. She also wrote a personal column for five years.
She has a degree in journalism and has taught a number of writing classes for various institutions in Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo, CA, including Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo, Westmont College, Brooks Institute and Santa Barbara City College Adult Education.
Marcia is a member of the Author's Guild, and has served as a member of the Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo, Journalism Department Advisory Committee and the College of Liberal Arts Dean’s Advisory Council. She also served on the boards of the Santa Barbara Mental Health Association, the Architectural Foundation of Santa Barbara, and Transition House, which helps homeless families.
She loves to take photographs, walk on the beach with her dogs, write poetry and read good fiction.
