Paula Spencer (US journalist)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
 |
This article may require cleanup to meet Wikipedia's quality standards. Please improve this article if you can. (July 2006) |
Contents |
[edit] Synopsis
A prominent American journalist, ""Paula Spencer"" has written (or co-authored) a dozen books and more than 400 articles for national magazines. She has also made numerous television, radio, and speaking appearances.
She is best known as the author of the long-running "Momfidence!" column in Woman's Day magazine and as the author of MOMFIDENCE!: An Oreo Never Killed Anyone and Other Secrets of Happier Parenting (Crown, 2006). The book was widely praised and was called "wise and witty" by Myrna Blyth, the former editor-in-chief of Ladies Home Journal. The Orange-County Register called the book laugh out loud funny. Glowing reviews and coverage of the book also appeared in the New York Daily News, the Atlanta Constitution, the Chicago Tribune, the Durham Herald, the Raleigh News & Observer, and the Toledo Blade.
Paula also writes the popular blog Momfidence! which can also be found at the Warner Bros. website MomLogic.com.
She is also a Senior Editor at Caring.com, a website for adult children who are their parents' caregivers.
A mother of four, Paula specializes parenting and family, pregnancy, women's health, and related social issues. She's a contributing editor to Parenting, Baby Talk, and Woman's Day. She tries to keep it light even while she is terribly serious.
[edit] Magazine Work
Paula's byline has appeared in a wide array of national publications, including Woman's Day, Parenting, Baby Talk, Parents, Family Life, USA Weekend, Glamour, The New York Post, New York Parent Guide, Good Housekeeping, Health, Weight Watchers, and Redbook, and online at WD.com, BabyCenter.com, ParentCenter.com, and Parenting.com.
Her first-person essays and columns are known for their friendly, peanut-butter-stained realism.
[edit] Books
Paula specializes in non-fiction collaborations with physicians.
She is the co-author of two books with Dr. Tracy Gaudet, the head of Duke University's Center for Integrative Medicine; they are Body, Soul, and Baby: A Doctor's Guide to the Complete Pregnancy Experience, from Preconception to Postpartum and Consciously Female: How to Listen to Your Body and Your Soul for a Lifetime of Healthier Living.
She's also written with pediatrician Harvey Karp: The Happiest Toddler on the Block
Paula also co-wrote The V Book with Dr. Elizabeth Stewart of Harvard University's School of Medicine.
Her works include three books written for Parenting Magazine: Parenting Guide to Positive Discipline, Parenting Guide to Pregnancy & Childbirth, and Parenting Guide to Your Toddler. She is also the author of Everything Else You Need to Know When You're Expecting: The New Etiquette for the New Mom.
She also created Pregnancy Journal: A Week-By-Week Guide to a Happy, Health Pregnancy and Parenting: The New Mom's Gift Kit in association with Peter Pauper Press.
Her latest book Bright from the Start is a collaboration with neuroscientist Jill Stamm, head of the New Directions Institute for Infant Brain Development.
Her work also appears in the anthologies The Experts' Guide to the Baby Years (Clarkson Potter, 2006) and Guideposts for the Spirit: Stories for Sisters (Ideals, 2003).
[edit] Publicity
In addition to numerous radio interviews, Paula has appeared on "The CBS Early Show," "Oprah!", on regional television programs, and as an online guest.
An experienced speaker, she has given talks on writing and on parenting for such groups as the American Library Association, the American Society of Journalists and Authors, the North Carolina Writer's Network, the Wisconsin Early Childhood Association, Women Today Expo, Wisconsin Early Childhood Association annual meeting (Parent Night keynote), Charlotte Parent Moms@Work and Carolina Parent Women@Work events (keynote), Southern Women’s Show, Mothers of Boys Clubs, Women Today Expo, Knoxville Writer’s Guild, North Carolina Writer’s Network Fall Conference, and as a guest lecturer at UNC-Chapel Hill's School of Journalism and Mass Communication.
When Newsweek published Paula's "My Turn" March 2007 column on overprotective parents, Rush Limbaugh created a cascade of publicity when he read the essay in its entirety on one of his daily broadcasts.
[edit] Expertise
In addition to her speeches and writings, Paula has been quoted as a parenting expert in Real Simple, Ladies Home Journal, Fit Pregnancy, New Choices, Parents, Pregnancy, Toddlers Today, The Stamford Advocate, and elsewhere. She's a member of the Medical Journalism Advisory Board for the School of Journalism and Mass Communications at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill.
[edit] Awards and Honors
These include American Speech Language Hearing Association 2006 Media Award; National Women’s Political Caucus Emma Award for News Features, Large-Circulation Magazines; Western Publications Association “Maggie” for Consumer Magazine Article; and the Arthritis Foundation Russell Cecil Award for Magazine Writing.
[edit] Consulting
Paula has also served as a consultant for BabyCenter.com; Gerber; First Moments; The Parenting Group; Time Inc. Custom Publishing; and Guideposts.
[edit] Further Background
Before becoming a full-time writer, Paula (a.k.a. Paula Patyk Spencer) was an editor in New York City and in Knoxville, Tennessee.
As an editorial director at Whittle Communications, a pioneering media company half-owned by Time Inc., she headed health, parenting, travel, and lifestyle publications. They included Travel Life, a bimonthly magazine for travel professionals (twice a finalist in the Magazine Week Publishing Excellence Awards).
Paula is a member of the Authors Guild (2004-present); the American Society of Journalists and Authors (1995-present); the American Pie Council (2004-present); and the American Society of Magazine Editors (1986-1999).
A native of Warren, Michigan, she graduated Phi Beta Kappa from the University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa. To learn more about Paula, visit her website.
