About
Marcia Meier is an award-winning writer, developmental book editor, writing coach, and publisher of Weeping Willow Books.
Her memoir, Face, A Memoir (Saddle Road Press, 2021), won numerous awards, including the New Mexico Arizona Book Award, Story Circle Network’s May Sarton Award, the New Mexico Press Woman and National Press Women awards, and was shortlisted for the Eric Hoffer Book Award grand prize.
Her latest book is Writing Through the Apocalypse, Pandemic Poetry and Prose (January 2023), an anthology featuring the essays and poetry of dozens of writers who have been wrote together through the Covid pandemic. Her anthology, Unmasked, Women Write About Sex and Intimacy After Fifty, co-edited with Kathleen A. Barry, Ph.D., was published in 2018. Her other books include Ireland, Place Out of Time; Heart on a Fence; Navigating the Rough Waters of Today's Publishing World, Critical Advice for Writers from Industry Insiders (Quill Driver Books); and Santa Barbara, Paradise on the Pacific (Longstreet Press).
Marcia’s reviews and essays have appeared in a number of literary magazines, and her poems have appeared in Writers Resist, Prime Number Magazine online, the anthology Knocking at the Door, Poems About Approaching the Other, and Sage Trail Literary Magazine. She has studied with Carolyn Forché (Hedgebrook in March 2016) and Kim Addonizio (six-week poetry workshop in fall 2017). Over the years she has been accepted to numerous writing retreats, including Olympic Valley Community of Writers; Writers by Writers, Tomales Bay; and A Room of Her Own Foundation.
A newspaper journalist for nearly 18 years, she has freelanced or written for numerous publications, including the Los Angeles Times, The Writer magazine, Santa Barbara Magazine, Pacific Standard Magazine, and Thrive.
She holds a bachelor's degree in journalism and an MFA in creative writing, and teaches writing workshops in Santa Fe and internationally.
Marcia is a member of PEN West The Author's Guild, and the Association of Writers and Writing Programs. She loves to take photographs, write poetry and read good fiction.
Featured Work
Face, A Memoir
A woman disfigured in a horrific accident as a child goes back in time to understand and heal from the trauma she experienced. At age five, Marcia Meier was hit by a car, losing the left side of her face and eyelid. Over the next fifteen years she underwent twenty surgeries and went on to become a successful journalist. But at midlife her controlled world began to fall apart, and she began a journey into the darkness of her past in order to heal.
This memoir won numerous awards, including the New Mexico/Arizona Book award; Story Circle Network’s May Sarton award, the New Mexico Press Women award and the National Federation of Press Women award. It was also shortlisted for the international Eric Hoffer Grand Prize and was a finalist for the Wishing Shelf award based in London.
From Hippocampus: “Face: A Memoir is a sensitive and engaging read, rich with detail. Thematically, …the reconstruction of surgery in Face aligns beautifully with the reconstruction of memory and personal history through writing, and I can’t say I’ve read anything exactly like it.” — Melissa Oliveira
Other Works
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Writing Through the Apocalypse, Pandemic Poetry and Prose
2203
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Substack, https://marciameier.substack.com/publish/home
2024
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Unmasked, Women Write About Sex and Intimacy After Fifty
2017
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Ireland, Place Out of Time
2017
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Heart on a Fence
2016
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Navigating the Rough Waters of Today’s Publishing World, Critical Advice for Writers from Industry Insiders
2010
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Santa Barbara, Paradise on the Pacific
1996
Awards and Recognition
- Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors Resolution in Appreciation of contributions, leadership and dedication to the community. 2010
- Woman of Distinction Association of Women in Communications, Santa Barbara Chapter · Jun 2010
- Certificate of Congressional Recognition, 2010 Issued by Lois Capps, Member of Congress Presented in recognition of outstanding and invaluable service to the community. 2010
- Numerous writing awards, including the New Mexico/Arizona Book Award for memoir; Best Op-Ed Page and Best Series of Editorials, California Newspaper Publishers Association; Story Circle Network’s May Sarton award; the New Mexico Press Women award and the National Federation of Press Women award.
