Margie Patlak

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Margie Patlak is an award-winning science and nature writer, memoirist, and photographer. Her book More Than Meets the Eye: Exploring Nature and Loss on the Coast of Maine was given an “Outstanding Book” award in the memoir category in 2022 by the American Society of Journalists and Authors.  Her photo book Wild and Wondrous: Nature’s Artistry on the Coast of Maine was published by Down East Books/Rowman and Littlefield in 2023.Her personal essays and articles have appeared in a number of literary journals, magazines and newspapers, including The Washington Post,  The Philadelphia Inquirer, The Los Angeles Times, Discover magazine, Hippocampus, JuxtaProse, Cold Mountain Review and Eastern Iowa Review.  Her photographs have been featured in a number of newspapers, including The Wall Street Journal and the Portland Press Herald, as well as on News Center Maine’s television show 207 and on B&W Minimalism Magazine’s Instagram site.  Her photos have also been featured in several solo and group exhibits.  Margie Patlak has degrees in Botany and Environmental Studies and divides her time between Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and Corea, Maine.

info Subjects

General

Nature & Environment
Health & Medicine
Science

notepad Skills

  • Articles
  • Books
  • Essays
  • Feature writing
  • Photography

notepad Writing Credits

Over a hundred science or health articles in newspapers and magazines, including The Washington Post, The Philadelphia Inquirer, The Dallas Morning News, The Los Angeles Times, Discover magazine, Parenting, Consumer Reports on Health.
OpEds or Personal Essays in The Los Angeles Times, The Philadelphia Inquirer, The Portland Press Herald, and The Ellsworth American

notepad Book Credits

More Than Meets the Eye: Exploring Nature and Loss on the Coast of Maine published by Down East Books/Rowman and LIttlefield in May 2021

Wild and Wondrous: Nature’s Artistry on the Coast of Maine published by Down East Books/Rowman and Littlefield in July 2023

star Awards, Honors, Appointments

“Outstanding Book” award given by the American Society of Journalists and Authors in 2022 in the memoir category for More Than Meets the Eye: Exploring Nature and Loss on the Coast of Maine

“Rock of Ages” essay won “First Honorable Mention” in the 2018 Creative Nonfiction contest sponsored by the literary magazine JuxtaProse

Selected Work

As author, unless indicated otherwise.

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MORE THAN MEETS THE EYE: EXPLORING NATURE AND LOSS ON THE COAST OF MAINE

Book, Down East Books/Rowman and LittlefieldMay 2021

For award-winning science writer Margie Patlak, exploring the unique nature of the Maine coast opens a door to deeper ties and insights. Watching a striped monarch caterpillar transform into a chartreuse pendant dabbed with gold, she realizes the limits of life and what is passed between generations. Tides show how fleeting time is, and clouds and weather reveal greater forces that take away all illusions of control. She also explores the continental collisions that thrust up and fractured Maine’s mountains; digs into the latest scientific thinking on how animals navigate; and exults in the dizzy dance of plankton under the microscope. Even moose, fox, and fishers reveal more than meets the eye.These facets of the natural world speak a hidden language Patlak translates with her scientific knowledge and reflection. Nature begins to speak about the nature of life.

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WILD AND WONDROUS: NATURE'S ARTISTRY ON THE COAST OF MAINE

, Down East Books/Rowman and LIttlefieldJuly 2023

For award-winning science writer and photographer Margie Patlak, exploring the unique  Maine coast opens a door to deeper insights and a greater appreciation for nature’s artistry. Fog erases all boundaries and imparts a sense of the unknown. Repeating lines of clouds render infinity with their visual echoes. Tree reflections in a pond or tidal pool give us pause.  From blueberry barrens ablaze with autumnal color and emerald forests draped with lichen and moss, to tidal shores decorated with barnacles and rockweed, Patlak’s lens captures Maine’s diverse habitats and inhabitants while conveying her sublime sense of wonder at its natural beauty.

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