Linda Watanabe McFerrin

A winner of the Nimrod International Journal Katherine Anne Porter Prize for Fiction, Linda Watanabe McFerrin's work has also appeared in Wild Places and American Fiction. Her novel, Namako: Sea Cucumber was published by Coffee House Press and named Best Book for the Teen-Age by the New York Public Library. Her collection of award-winning short stories, The Hand of Buddha, was published in 2000. She is also a contributor and publishing partner in the recently released Wild Writing Women: Stories of World Travel. Linda is currently at work on a novel set in China.

Linda holds an undergraduate degree in Comparative Literature and a Master of Arts degree in creative writing. A popular panelist, lecturer and workshop leader, she has been a Mentor for the Loft Literary Series, a guest instructor at the Oklahoma Institute for the Arts and a judge of the San Francisco Literary Competition. When she is not on the road, she directs art, consults on communications and product development and teaches Creative Writing.

Poet, travel writer, novelist and teacher and contributor to numerous journals, newspapers, magazines, anthologies and online publications including the San Francisco Examiner, the Washington Post, the San Francisco Chronicle Magazine, Modern Bride, Travelers' Tales, Salon.com, and Women.com. She is the author of two poetry collections and the editor of the 4th edition of Best Places Northern California.