Previously a newspaper, magazine, and publishing company editor-in-chief, I became a full-time writing coach, author, and freelance editor in 1996.
Writing Coach. I coach writers around the world on writing and publishing books, freelance articles, and blogs. Authors I have coached have signed with major publishers. They include Chronicle Books; Little, Brown; Ten Speed Press/Random House; Running Press, and Simon & Shuster. Book advances for my clients have been as high as $230,000. The stories of writers I have coached have appeared in The New York Times, The San Francisco Chronicle, The Washington Post, Serious Eats, NPR, among others.
I also coach writers on career goals, book promotion, social media, and shifts in careers.
Editor. I have edited cookbooks and ghost-written for publishers including Time Inc., Andrews-McMeel and Weldon Owen. Some authors hire me to edit their manuscript prior to submission to a publisher, and I have edited self-published books as well.
Author. I am the author of the multiple award-winning book, Will Write for Food: The Complete Guide to Writing Cookbooks, Blogs, Memoir, Recipes, and More (Da Capo/Lifelong Books). Now in its third edition, Will Write for Food has won three international awards for excellence. The first edition won the Cordon D’Or International award for Best Literary Food Reference Book in 2005. The second won the Gourmand World Cookbook Award in 2010 for best book in the USA in its category. The third won a Silver Nautilus award in the Creative Process category.
College and university professors use Will Write for Food as a textbook across the US, including at Harvard and the Culinary Institute of America at Hyde Park (CIA). Professors also use it as a textbook abroad, including at the American University of Rome. Will Write for Food has been translated into Korean, Chinese and Spanish.
See what others have said about my book here.
I am the co-author of two cookbooks with Chicago chef Craig Priebe. Our second book, The United States of Pizza (Rizzoli, 2015), was recommended by The New York Times, The Boston Globe, and NPR as one of the best cookbooks of the year. The United States of Pizza also won a 2015 national award for cookbooks from IndieFab. Our first cookbook was Grilled Pizzas & Piadinas (DK Publishing, 2008).
I wrote the text for The Good Pantry (Oxmoor House, 2015), with recipes from Cooking Light.
Blogger. My blog is aimed at food writers and bloggers. Established in 2009, it covers trends, issues, and techniques. The New York Times, Publishers’ Weekly, Chow, Eater, BlogHer, have linked to my posts.
Book Judge. I am a judge for the James Beard Foundation‘s annual cookbook awards. I’ve also judged the International Association of Culinary Professionals (IACP) annual cookbook awards and the IACP Food Writing Awards.
Freelancer. As a freelance writer, I have written feature articles for a variety of publications, including Lucky Peach and The Washington Post. My essay in Lucky Peach, The Meaning of Mangoes, was the grand prize winner of the M.F.K. Fisher Award for Excellence in Culinary Writing in 2016. It also won Best Essay from the Association of Food Journalists annual awards, and is included in the anthology Best Food Writing 2016. I was a finalist for an IACP food writing award in 2007.
Speaker and Teacher. Based in Oakland, CA, USA, I am a speaker and teacher who travels around the world to teach and present. Over the years, I’ve been fortunate to teach in London, Dubai, Vancouver, France, Italy, Turkey, Cambodia, and Australia. See my upcoming events here.
Honors. In 2019, I attended a memoir workshop class with famed author Joyce Carol Oates after she read my writing and selected me as one of 10 students. In 2013 I was named the Joseph Hoare Gastronomic Writer in Residence by the Stratford Chef’s School in Canada, the country’s most prestigious cooking school.
Memberships and Board Service. I am a member of the International Association of Culinary Professionals, The San Francisco Professional Food Society, Baker’s Dozen, and Les Dames D’Escoffier International. I am a past board chair of the Alameda County Community Food Bank and currently board chair of Saint Mary’s Center, a non-profit specializing in the needs of homeless and at-risk seniors. I live in Oakland, CA.
About my Blog
Product reviews. I sometimes review books of interest to my readers, particularly those that are literary or practical. I often interview authors where I mention their books.
Affiliate program. In my posts, I link to books and the occasional product on Amazon.com, where I receive incremental compensation. I am also an affiliate of Amazon.com and Food Blogger Pro.
Sponsorship, embedded links, and guest posts. I do not write sponsored posts or include embedded links. Some food writers have written excellent guest posts, and I invite you to contact me if you wish to pitch a topic.
Content. All posts are copyrighted and owned by me. Republishing them is possible, but only with my written permission.
For more information, please contact me.