Meredith Maran published her first poem in Highlights For Kids at age 6, her first national magazine article at age 15, and her first book at age 18. In the intervening 54 years, she has published a dozen nonfiction books, an acclaimed novel, and myriad articles, op-eds, essays, and book reviews for The New York Times, The Washington Post, The LA Times, O Magazine, The Los Angeles Review of Books, and many other outlets. A keynote speaker at venues including the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, the Charles Schwab Foundation, Stanford University, and UC Berkeley, Meredith has been Writer in Residence at UCLA and at artists’ colonies including MacDowell and Yaddo. A member of the National Book Critics Circle and an active member of the Los Angeles and Palm Springs women’s, sober, writers’, and activist communities, Meredith is a passionate proponent of independent presses, bookstores, and thought.
Meredith on “Forgetting to Remember” on The Memory Hole Podcast, September 24, 2023
Meredith “Unleashes the Revolutionary Spirit” on the Inner Rebel Podcast, April 27, 2023
Meredith speaks at William & Mary College about Women’s Lives After 60, September 17, 2022
Here’s Meredith at a gathering of Los Angeles writers, April 14, 2022
Ana Tajder interviews Meredith on the podcast “Thanks, Mama,” Feb. 1, 2022
Here’s Meredith on Screen
My Lie: A True Story of False Memory from John Wiley & Sons on Vimeo.
Interviewing bestselling author Joan Silber for the Los Angeles Public Library Foundation, 6/8/21
Performing “Her” at GenerationWomen, New York City, 8/18/20
• Performing “Can You See Me Now?” at the Bootleg Theater, Los Angeles, 7/25/19
• Talking about bisexual eroticism, FORATV, Berkeley, 6/15/08
• In conversation with James Frey and Kathryn Harrison, Center For Fiction, New York City, 2/22/13
• In conversation with Alex Strauss, Center For Fiction, New York City, 2/16/12
Here’s Meredith as keynote speaker
“Thank you for teaching the workshop on “Writing the Hard Stuff.” The MFA students found the workshop very challenging and even more rewarding.”
-Kate Daniels, Associate Professor, MFA program, Vanderbilt University
You were asked to participate in our Leadership Workshop Series pane on Education Reform because of your expertise and reputation as a thought-leader in education. We have received a great deal of positive feedback on the quality of the panel and the caliber of the panelists from the students, community leaders, alumni, and staff. By all accounts, it was a success.”
-NaSun Cho, Program Coordinator, Stanford Graduate School of Business
“The feedback I’ve gotten was that it was refreshing and enlightening to finally hear someone “keep it real.” We could not have asked for more from you and I appreciate the passion and sincerity you brought to each of the readings.”
-Jeff Kass, Poet in Residence, Ann Arbor (MI) School District
“Everyone at the Library feels very honored to have had a writer of your stature present at our first Annual Author’s Dinner. We all send great affection, thanks and sincere gratitude for your help.”
-Linda Schact Gage, Director, Berkeley Public Library Foundation
“Your book, Dirty, has been a poignant missive for those of us at the Foundation who work on the issue of youth substance abuse. I was very pleased by the event. Thanks for your participation.”
-Ed Carlson, Substance Abuse Program Officer, Charles and Helen Schwab Foundation
“A special thank you for your inspired and heartfelt presentation at our meeting in San Francisco. Everyone was moved and even more determined as a result of your insights and ideas.”
-Laura Nissen, Director, Reclaiming Futures/Robert Wood Johnson Foundation
Other speaking venues (partial list)
UCLA MFA Program in Narrative Writing
-Los Angeles, CA
Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising
-Los Angeles, CA
SNAP Conference (Science•Nature•Art•People)
-Boulder, CO
Robert Wood Johnson Foundation national conference
-San Francisco, CA
Charles Schwab Foundation legislative luncheon/press conference
-Sacramento, CA
Educators for Social Responsibility
-New York, NY
Stanford University Business School
-Palo Alto, CA
Education Writer’s Association of America national conference
-Phoenix, AZ
University of San Francisco Lone Mountain Writer’s Series
-San Francisco, CA
California Public Libraries
-Hayward, San Leandro, Pleasanton, San Lorenzo, Fremont, Berkeley
University of California at Berkeley School of Law, Center for Social Justice national conference
-Berkeley, CA
