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BIO

About the Writer

Words have brought great meaning to my life for as long as I can remember. Before I turned to writing as a career, putting together articles about my struggles with chronic illness carried me through my teenage years. 

At the age of 20, when I moved full-time to Cambodia to work as a bartender and English teacher instead of attending college, I became a contributing writer for Verge Magazine. I detailed my experience as an expat for Verge, and the positive response I got from my regular column made me realize I might have a future in travel writing.  

It was in Cambodia that I got my first copywriting job, and learned the ins and outs of SEO, blog writing and editing, email marketing, and how to put my research skills to good use. I loved the challenge of navigating SEO guidelines, adapting to a brand voice, and creating content that both a business and a reader could get excited about. During that phase of my life, I freelanced full-time, spending the majority of my working hours copywriting for an adventure tour company that helped Westerners explore Asia. 

 

When I moved back to the US in 2019, I continued to take on freelance copywriting work and the occasional magazine assignment while also building a successful hospitality career.  I served as assistant manager and sommelier of a fine-dining bistro in a small mountain paradise and learned invaluable lessons about customer service, time management, and keeping calm under great pressure. In April of 2021, I finally left my restaurant work in order to pursue writing full-time.... Again. 

 

Writing for me is about far more than hitting word counts and making deadlines—it's about fostering human connection and bridging great chasms of difference. I am always searching for fulfilling projects that engage with my areas of personal interest and experience, such as food & wine, spirituality, chronic illness, and travel. 

 

I now live in Colorado and write full-time, focused on travel journalism and content writing for clients in the travel, food & beverage, and lifestyle industries. 
 

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©2021 by Zanny Merullo Steffgen. Proudly created with Wix.com

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