Christie Lowrance – Writer
Bio
M. Christie Palmer-Lowrance has diverse and extensive experience as a writer/editor for over 30 years. She has taught college-level writing at the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth and Cape Cod Community College, and has a B.A. in English from Hobart-William Smith College and an M.A. in Professional Writing from UMass Dartmouth. Her thesis work was A Study of Issues: Shipwreck Preservation and Management, for which she interviewed Dr. George Bass, “father of underwater archaeology,” Dr. Robert Ballard, Titanic discoverer, as well as other prominent individuals in maritime science and history fields.
In public relations, she was the liaison for state and federal government representatives and the Town of Sandwich during a complex planning process for a municipal wastewater facilities plan and an environmental impact study. She worked in marketing for Infinium, an international business software company, and in development for the SHARE Foundation at Center for Rehabilitation Engineering, University of Massachusetts, a non-profit organization that adapts computer equipment for use by handicapped individuals.
For 15 years, she worked as a travel writer, co-authoring Insider’s Guide to Cape Cod, Nantucket and Martha’s Vineyard (Insider’s Guide, Inc.), a nationally distributed 600-page book that Barnes and Noble’s marketing department noted was “by far” the best Cape Cod guide book on the market. She also as an area editor for Fodor’s Travel Guides (Random House) for 10 years, and was start-up writer/editor for Cape Cod Travel Guide magazine.
Ms. Palmer-Lowrance was a major contributing writer to Cranberry Harvest, a book on 19th and 20th century developments in the American cranberry industry (Spinner Publications). Her articles have appeared in such publications as Boston Globe, Cape Cod Times, Good Housekeeping, Oceans, Country Journal, Americana, and Cape Cod Life. She lives in Sandwich, Massachusetts, and her interests include family, folk music, history, and the outdoors.
She is available for consultation, editing, and teaching after December 31, 2010.
Current Work
M. Christie Palmer-Lowrance has been working for two years for a book under contract, Afield: The Legacy of Thornton Burgess, a biography of 20th century children’s writer and naturalist Thornton Burgess (1874-1965). Burgess books and newspaper articles reached countless millions of children with his message of wildlife conservation and appreciation for nature. In the earliest days of radio, he hosted a popular radio nature program that was among the first in the country for children; his listening audience extended from Canada to Washington, D.C. Burgess’ books were translated into Japanese, Chinese, French, Norwegian, and Braille, and his syndicated children’s animal stories were carried in major newspapers throughout North America.
When the author died at 91 in 1965, his books had sold 11 million copies. Sixty-four of his 70 books were still in print, and Dover Press continues to carry a successful line of them. Palmer-Lowrance’s biography examines Burgess’ Cape Cod childhood, and his important and unique role in children’s literature, conservation, and nature education.
Afield is being published by Schiffer Publications, and will be available in fall 2011.
Contact Information: Christie.Lowrance@Verizon.net