Bios
Anita Alan | Lisa Meckel
Anita Alan is the author of Big Sur Inn: the Deetjen Legacy (Gibbs Smith), which won the 2008 Lowell Thomas Travel Journalism Bronze Award from the Society of American Travel Writers in Houston, Texas and the 2007 Gold Medal from Independent Publisher Book Awards in New York City for Best Non-Fiction in the West Pacific Region. As a Contributing Editor, she currently writes the Travels to Norway section of Norwegian American Weekly and articles for Norway Magazine. Her fiction, non-fiction, and photographic work appear in numerous magazines and newspapers. She published stories and photographs in Cricket Magazine, Ladybug, the Monterey County Herald, the Carmel Pine Cone, Monterey County Magazine, Sur Life Magazine, Instructor, the Avalon Bay News, and the Denver Post. Alan was editorial writer, reporter, columnist, and photographer for The Big Sur Gazette and The Coast Gazette (1978-81). She studied at The New School University in New York City, and received a Bachelor of Science Degree from the University of Southern California, and Master of Arts from Monterey Institute of International Studies. Fifteen years after her early career as a domestic and international flight attendant, Alan’s interest in flight and space led her to become California Semi-Finalist for the NASA Teacher in Space Program. While teaching for Carmel Schools, she served as a reading, language arts, and graphics consultant for Hampton Brown, Harcourt, Silver Burdett, and Houghton Mifflin. Alan received the Lighthouse for Literacy Award from the Monterey County Reading Association and the Teacher Recognition Award for Excellence in Environmental Education from the Rancho San Carlos Education Foundation. In 2002, she left teaching to devote full time to writing. Alan is a member of the California Writers Club and served as the Central Coast branch hospitality chair for five years, and belongs to the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators. Together with Carmel Valley poet Lisa Meckel, Alan gives slide and book presentations to libraries, bookstores, and various organizations.