About Amy

Amy Abrams
AMY ABRAMS is an award-winning author, widely read journalist, literary journal/book editor, communications consultant, and former publishing executive at major art magazines (Art & Antiques and Museum & Arts Washington). With over 200 stories published, she has contributed to The Wall Street Journal, Art in America, and Village Voice Media. Book releases include coffee table art books Schenck in the 21st Century: The Myth of the Hero and the Truth of America, winning the U.S. Literary Award for Fine Arts; Gregory Hull: Journey Home to the Authentic Self; and Anne Coe: Wisdom of the Wild, as well as the novel, The Cage and The Key. She has appeared on TV talk shows and radio programs including NPR, as well as lectured about publishing to university, museum, and writing conference audiences across America including Arizona State University’s Walter Cronkite School of Journalism. As a communications consultant to corporations and non-profits, her clients include the World Bank, World Vision International, and George Washington University. As a one-on-one writing coach, she counsels executives at Google, IBM, and tech start-ups.

In the Press

WBOC TV

Author and journalist Amy Abrams talks about her two new book releases, including her debut novel, The Cage and The Key, A Spiritual Sojourn.


Television Broadcast Avalon Theater

Amy Abrams on MCTV with Carlisle Hashim


Women and Creativity: TV Discussion Panel

Watch Amy Abrams, author of “The Cage and the Key,” and “Schenck in the 21 Century, The Myth of the Hero and the Truth of America,” Rebecca Hoffberger, founder /director of American Visionary Art Museum, and Jude Hegarty, M.D., Psychiatrist, share how women express themselves in creative ways.


Amy Abrams on Karen Randau's Blog

KarenRandau.com

Interview with Amy Abrams highlighting writing as self-discovery


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Tidewater Times Book Review

Schenck in the 21st Century-The Myth of the Hero and the Truth of America.


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Western Art and Architecture Magazine “Things We Love”

Schenck in the 21st Century-The Myth of the Hero and the Truth of America.


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ANNOUNCEMENT:

US Literary Award for Fine Arts awarded to Schenck in the 21st Century–The Myth of the Hero and the Truth of America by Amy Abrams

unitedstatesliteraryaward.blogspot.com


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TRUE WEST magazine Best of West

Schenck in the 21st Century: The Myth of the Hero and the Truth of America by Amy Abrams awarded

2014 Best of the West Books


NPR Radio Show, October 2013

Click to listen to interview with Amy Abrams

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SiriusXM Radio Show, October 2013

Click to listen to interview with Amy Abrams

SiriusXM logo for Amy Abrams Press copy


Testimonials

Writing Teacher Endorsements

Dear Amy,

Thank you so much for your outstanding presentation on Saturday on how to “Unleash Your Creativity Through Writing.” Your talk was so inspirational, yet filled with loads of practical advice, as well. Everyone was taking notes and focused throughout. No wonder your classes are so popular at The Writer’s Center in Bethesda. We are delighted that you were willing to bring your expertise to our curriculum at Howard County Library System. I’ve cut/pasted customer comments about what they enjoyed most about your talk. You received 100% glowing comments!

All best,

Lisa Bankman, Events/Seminar Manager, Howard County Library System (LIBRARY OF THE YEAR: 2013) Columbia, MD

  • She covered so many topics in such a short time — this was a terrific session!
  • Amy’s expertise was a great asset. Her style of lecture was easy to follow.
  • Great presenter, good advice.
  • Content. A lot was fit into a short timeframe.

Amy Abrams is the storytelling and publishing “go to guru.”  I first took a course with Amy on Storytelling for Business.  After completing this course, I immediately signed up for her course on Writing and Publishing Articles for Magazines and Websites.  In addition to being an accomplished writer, Amy is a very personable and competent teacher who presents content in a logical order, is responsive to her audience, and answers questions completely.   I feel that I now have the tools I need to move forward with writing blogs and articles.  If she offered a course on writing books, I would sign up for it in a minute.  I thoroughly recommend Amy for anyone who is interested in improving his/her writing and is looking for a practical approach to holding the attention of the target audience and getting published in leading magazines.

Wanda J. Campbell, Ph.D., ACC, SHRM-SCP, Cultivare Leadership Development, LLC


Amy Abrams makes sure to catch each student’s eye as she drives home each piece of information she wants to convey. She draws from her experience and thoughtful reflection to reach each student at their own level – alternately engaging the class through humor, insight, practice and appreciation.

– Aquene Freechild, Campaign Co-Director, Democracy is For People Campaign


Thank you VERY much for such a useful and invigorating seminar today, The Art of Storytelling for Business, at The Writer’s Center. You were most gracious to take our spontaneous questions, the answers to which made the excellent teachings real for us.

– Lily Liu


Amy Abrams has done two excellent programs at our library. The first, in April 2014, was on her book, Schenck in the 21st Century—The Myth of the Hero and the Truth of America, which won the 2013 U.S. Literary Award for Fine Arts.

The second program in June, 2014, was titled: How to Get Published in Magazines, Newspapers and the Web, an excellent presentation on techniques including research and interviewing to write first-rate articles for print and the web. She had a mixed audience including teens, adults and seniors, and offered excellent instruction in an engaging manner.

Amy is a delight to work with, and this, along with her wide range of expertise in the field of marketing, editing and publishing, makes her an excellent presenter and instructor. We look forward to working with her again in the near future.

Sincerely,

Scotti Oliver- Assistant Director, Talbot County Library, Easton, MD


I know Amy Abrams from her work as a writing instructor at The Writer’s Center, where I am on the board. She is also a fiction editor for The Delmarva Review, where I am executive editor. As a teacher and speaker, Amy has the ability to engage her audience with intelligence, personality, and inspiration. She is encouraging without accepting mediocrity. Above all, one will not leave her lectures without the addition of knowledge and the positive spirit to apply it.

-Wilson Wyatt-Board of Directors, The Writer’s Center / Executive Editor, The Delmarva Review


“I attended a seminar called Write Winning Stories for Magazines, Newspapers and the Web by Amy Abrams. She was great at keeping students interested throughout the entire day and gave me key insights into the world of freelance writing. I simply wanted to improve my writing skills and ended up with an in-class writing assignment that I can publish. I wouldn’t have missed it for the world.”
Sif Mogensen


“I recently took a full-day class at the Writer’s Center in Bethesda, Maryland from Amy Abrams entitled, Writing Winning Articles. She had prepared a full agenda but managed to expertly field the many questions from the students and still get through all her talking points. She provided us with many good suggestions and sprinkled the day with her wonderful sense of humor. In addition, she gave the students great feedback on their writing. The day flew by and I learned so much.”
Desiree Magney


“Hi, Amy! I wanted to let you know that I finished…I finished my first draft of my novel : )  I am so thrilled and so grateful. Thank you for your help and advice in the classes I’ve taken with you. It was in my first class with you where you had us write a prompt that I first became hooked on the power of just telling the story…of seeing the characters pop into life on the page in front of me. It was huge for me.”

Thank you, Eugenia Sozzi


“Saturday’s class was the perfect follow-up to last month’s “Writing Winning Articles” class. You gave us a tremendous amount of useful information.”
Lynn Stapleton


“Thanks so much for imparting your behind-the-scenes knowledge. I can’t think of a better way to have spent my Saturday. Enjoyed the class immensely!”
Marci Karth Better

Writing and Marketing Endorsements

“Amy Abrams’ contributions to my communications team at The George Washington University were outstanding. Amy’s assistance as a communications consultant highly elevated both our internal and external communications. Her enthusiasm drove the workshops she devised and taught my staff, which included highly informative instruction in persuasiveness of language, flow of content, editing, and more. My team’s skill set improved over the series of workshops and she provided helpful feedback. As a researcher, writer, and editor for print and digital materials, she offered fast and accurate work that enhanced our content. She quickly learned the nuances of our higher education technology messaging, which was both impressive and greatly desired in our fast-moving environment. Amy is invaluable and I highly recommend her teaching and writing services.”

Michelle Valedez, Director of Communications at The George Washington University


“Amy Abrams served as Associate Publisher for Museum & Arts Washington magazine. During her stewardship, the magazine grew in ad pages and prestige in terms of advertisers. She took an energetic but fractured group of sales people, developed them into a team, and grew ad pages by 35% in her first year. It was not easy. Washington, DC had its established magazines and art can be a very tough sell. Amy had a strategic approach to the marketplace that both enhanced and expanded our categories. She brought, in addition to increased sales, an organized vision for the sales team and a love of art. It is a hard combination to find. Our sales were up and our national presence increased. Amy will prove a wonderful asset to any team. She is an excellent leader and consensus builder who gets solid results.”

Anne E. Abramson¸ Publisher, Museum & Arts Washington magazine


“Amy Abrams has written many articles for us, as well as served as an overall copy editor of our entire publication for the past two years. She is, hands-down, the best writer I have worked with, contributing well-written, engaging articles that were always good-to-go without edits or rewrites. She is very responsive, organized, and always met any deadline we asked of her. Our clients loved working with her, as did we! I would recommend Amy without reservation. Any company who employs her services would be quite pleased and most fortunate to have her!”
Teri Ambrose, Publisher, Finest Wedding Sites and Services magazine


“Amy Abrams is a gifted and talented writer. I had the good fortune of using her on a website marketing project that required superior research and writing ability. She exceeded all expectations in accuracy, style, content and speed of development. She had extremely demanding deadlines and produced amazing content. With very little direction she was able to create content that impressed us. That is no small feat. I wholeheartedly recommend her.”
Ken Brantingham, Director of Marketing, Goldberg and Osborne Law Firm


“Amy is one of the most enthusiastic, historically inclined, and proactive critics around. She brings high values and high standards to her work–and a strong awareness of the power of words. She keeps her ethics as a journalist clearly in the foreground and avoids the entanglements that often color smaller regional art scenes. Amy’s passion for art, her art historical knowledge, and her commitment to thorough research are all evident in the caliber of her writing. She asks probing questions and ferrets out context as few critics do–with a sense of advocacy for the arts.”
Susan Krane, Director, Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art


“Amy has an ability to comprehend complicated issues and distill them into clear words. As well, I appreciate her dependability and attention to time lines. She is a reliable, resourceful, productive and creative writer, who is quite adept at working independently. She can be counted on to do what she says she’ll do, with competence and professionalism.”
Chris La Fleur, Director of Marketing Communications, Isagenix International


“Amy Abrams has written a number of freelance articles for me since 2004. I’ve had her cover topics from the arts and architecture to dining and shopping. She is one of the writers I return to again and again for work that is on time, accurate, and well written.”
Katy Spining, Executive Editor, Madden Publishing


“As an editor with more than 15 years experience, I’ve worked with dozens of writers. Amy Abrams stands among them as one of the most gifted. A meticulous writer with a subtle turn of phrase, Amy elevates any subject she covers. Reliable, responsive and creative, she is the type of writer an editor turns to again and again. In fact, I’ve hired her to write many articles for not one, but two publications I’ve helmed–and I’d do it again in a heartbeat. But beyond being a thoughtful reporter, an excellent writer and a strategic thinker, Amy is a true artist, who I predict will break into the ranks of serious authors one day.”
Karen Werner, Editor, Wavelength (National Public Radio’s official magazine), Design & Architecture Magazine


“I know Amy Abrams from her work as writing instructor at The Writer’s Center, where I am on the board. She is also a fiction editor for The Delmarva Review, where I am executive editor. As a teacher and speaker, Amy has the ability to engage her audience with intelligence, personality, and inspiration. She is encouraging without accepting mediocrity. Above all, one will not leave her lectures without the addition of knowledge and the positive spirit to apply it.”

Wilson Wyatt, Board of Directors, The Writer’s Center / Executive Editor, The Delmarva Review


“Amy Abrams is a true professional–her writing comes in on time, at the assigned length and with all the elements we ask her to cover. The writing is tight, requires little or no editing, and is informative and interesting, with a good mix of quotes, description and explanatory text.”
Daniel Gibson, Editor, Native Peoples Magazine


“Nobody kept us more connected to the exclusive and elusive world of art than Amy Abrams. She always knew who to talk to, what to ask them, and how to make it all sound fabulous. Plus, she’s just fun to work with.”
David Tyda, Executive Editor, Desert Living Magazine


“Amy Abrams is a dependable and creative writer who gets the story behind the story. She meets any deadline and always delivers interesting spins on assigned topics. An intelligent, witty and strong writer, Abrams also delivers grammatically correct work, so editors can breathe a sigh of relief with this writer on board.”
Renee Targos, Editor