When I was a 9-year-old girl living on Long Island, NY, I asked my father to buy me a red notebook—the kind with the word RECORD gold-leaf embossed on the cover. He asked me, “What are you going to do with it?” I answered, “I don’t know. I just want to write my thoughts down somewhere.” That urge to capture life on paper has been my driving force throughout my life. I have kept a diary off and on amounting to 60 volumes. When I was 13, I fell in love with rock and roll and begged my parents for a guitar. My diary grew thicker with lyrics as I wrote songs. After graduating from Hofstra University with a bachelor’s in English, I worked in book publishing (Avon Books) where I was the gatekeeper of original manuscripts and hand edited an index for a business book reprint. I later worked in public relations at two top New York City agencies (Rowland Worldwide and Ruder Finn) where I wrote copy and traveled extensively with spokespersons—Olympic Gold Medalist Peter Vidmar, and the trainer/owner of the Air-Buddy dog movie franchise—for a dog food company. I transitioned to freelance writing while raising three children—who, by the way, all became musicians.
As my children grew, I wrote hundreds of articles on: tobacco laws, roadside memorials, taxes, healing power of music, a cinematography pilot, book reviews, profiles of authors, famous people and interesting people who did cool things—mainly human-interest stories. I penned a food column and a family-oriented personal column that won awards.
My passion for writing led me to draft a novel on my off hours while sitting at the dining room table. I earned an MFA in creative writing and literature from Stony Brook University (Southampton) re-writing and organizing that novel as my thesis. Surprise! It’s about rock and roll and female musicians. I’m represented by Hesperides Literary and hope to see the novel, Bridging the Sound, published soon.
While my career evolved, I discovered my love for children and writing translated well into the classroom. I teach journalism and creative writing at universities in the New York tri-state area. I love to share communications with like-minded souls. That passion for language led me to privately tutor people from age 6 up to 80. I help students hone their communication skills and guide professionals to write non-fiction and fiction books. I’m able to sketch big-picture broad strokes as well as master the tiniest details that breathe life into stories!
Official Bio
Mary Ellen Walsh is an award-winning writer published in Newsday, New York Daily News, LI Pulse, Long Island Press, and elsewhere, including various websites like Scary Mommy. Her Patch.com “MEWsings” column won awards for humor writing from the Society of Professional Journalists. She spent a decade in New York City public relations agencies strategizing and writing for internationally recognized brands such as Glad® Bags and Pedigree® Food for Dogs. Walsh earned an MFA in creative writing and literature from Stony Brook Southampton and is currently working on a rock and roll novel. She teaches writing at various universities as well as coaches clients in the tri-state area.