Mary Embree

Mary Embree, Biographical Information

Mary Embree is an author, editor, literary consultant, and public speaker. She teaches writing workshops and edits books and doctoral dissertations. Assisting authors with their book manuscripts from first to final draft, she often helps them self-publish. If they are seeking a publisher, she shows them how to write a query letter and prepare a book proposal.

Mary has written several books including "The Author's Toolkit: A Step-by-Step Guide to Writing and Publishing Your Book" and "The Birds and Bees of Words: A Guide to the Most Common Errors in Usage, Spelling, and Grammar." Both were published by Allworth Press and became Writer's Digest Book Club selections. The Third Edition of "Author's Toolkit" will be available in November 2010.

During the 1970s and 1980s she was a staff researcher and writer on the TV series "This is Your Life" and served as Assistant to the Producers on the hit TV sitcoms "Good Times," "One Day at a Time," and "Three's Company." She also wrote and produced a video documentary on a parolee musical band for the California Youth Authority.

Mary is the founder and President of the Board of Directors of the California Literary Arts Society (CLAS) a nonprofit organization that produces the annual Ventura Book Festival, conducts writing seminars, and publishes books by young people. Recently CLAS published a book by teenagers in Juvenile Hall who wrote about their lives before and during their incarceration. Their book is available on the CLAS website www.literaryarts-ca.org.