Virginia M. Wright

Virginia M. Wright

For more than 30 years, Virginia M. Wright has traveled the state of Maine in search of stories about people, places, and culture. Her latest project, The Town That Ski Bums Built, is an engaging history written with Carrabassett Valley History Committee. It will be published by Down East Books in fall 2024.

The former senior editor for Down East magazine, Wright has covered such diverse topics as the harmful child welfare practices that have devastated Maine's Wabanaki people, a remote island's struggle to maintain a year-round community, the revival of Maine's oyster industry, a United Nations proposal to promote moose milk (yes, really!), and a rare moth that lives only atop Maine's highest mountain. She has driven the entire 527-mile length of Maine's Route 1, observed the peculiar rituals of one island's daily commute, and helped biologists capture and assess the health of loons on a lake in the middle of the night. Her magazine articles have won eight International Regional Magazine Association awards, including four golds.

Her articles have appeared in numerous publications, including American Profile, Annotation (National Historical Publications and Records Commission), Archi-Tech Residential, MaineBiz, Maine Farmland Trust’s Journal, Outside Online, and Yankee. She edits Voyages, the annual journal of the Cruising Club of America, and she has copyedited and proofread memoirs for other writers.

She is the author of five novelty books: The Wild Blueberry Book, The Maine Lobster Book, Route 1: Maine, Ultimate Acadia, and Red’s Eats: World’s Best Lobster Shack

Prior to joining the Down East staff in 2010, Wright wrote about historic buildings and neighborhoods, contemporary architecture, and the urban landscape for Greater Portland Landmarks, and she contributed regularly to Bates College’s alumni magazine. For several years, she was the editor of Northeast Historic Film’s Moving Image Review. For 12 years, she was the features editor of The Times Record in Brunswick, Maine.

Wright is a graduate of McGill University in Montréal. She has attended the Nieman Conference on Narrative Journalism, the National Writers’ Workshop, and American Press Institute’s seminar for lifestyle editors.