Marybeth Holleman

Marybeth Holleman has made her home in Alaska for over 20 years. A writer, teacher, and activist, she is author of The Heart of the Sound: An Alaskan Paradise Found and Nearly Lost, and co-editor with Anne Coray of Crosscurrents North: Alaskans on the Environment.

Her essays, poetry, and articles have appeared in numerous journals, magazines, and anthologies, among them The North American Review, Orion, The Christian Science Monitor, Ice-Floe, Sierra, National Wildlife, Going Alone, American Nature Writing, Under Northern Lights, Solo, and The Seacoast Reader. Her radio commentaries have aired on National Public Radio, and her poetry won the 8th World Wilderness Congress award.

She is also author of Alaska’s Prince William Sound: A Traveler’s Guide and The State of the Sound, and writes for nonprofit organizations on environmental issues, including predator control, global warming, oil spills, and polar bears.

She has taught creative writing and women’s studies at various Alaska campuses, most frequently at the University of Alaska Anchorage. She has also taught a variety of writing workshops, including outdoor nature writing workshops in conjunction with rafting trips down Alaska's Copper River.

She holds a degree in Environmental Studies from the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill and an M.F.A. in Creative Writing from the University of Alaska Anchorage.

An Italian-American born in Cleveland, Ohio, and raised in the Appalachian mountains around Asheville, North Carolina, she transplanted to Alaska over 20 years ago. Her first years in Alaska were spent in a variety of summer jobs, including working at the Denali gift shop and selling tickets on the train between Portage and Whittier.

She now lives in Anchorage, in the foothills of the Chugach Mountains with her husband, Rick Steiner, her son James Holleman, and her two wild huskies, Keira and Lilly.

She spends as much time as possible with her other beloveds, Prince William Sound and Denali, when she's not at home trying to grow tomatoes in a backyard greenhouse. 

She may be reached at marybeth@alaskawriters.com.