ERICA ZORA WRIGHTSON

Writer • Editor • Producer • Oral Historian

EDUCATION

Columbia University, New York Master’s in oral history, 2015

University of California, Santa Barbara, College of Creative Studies Bachelor’s in literature with emphasis in poetry, 2007

University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, South Africa Certificate of merit for postgraduate creative writing, 2006

EXPERIENCE

Los Angeles County Museum of Art September 2015–present                                                                                              

Managing Editor of Publications

Oversee the editing and production of wall text for all museum exhibitions

Strategize exhibition narratives with curators and designers

Edit exhibition text and exhibition catalogues

Assign projects to in-house editors and freelancers and manage their deadlines 

Maintain and update the museum’s editorial style guide

Develop podcast topics

Freelance Writer/Editor                                                                                         August 2007–present

Cookbook and concert reviews, artist profiles, and special-issue features for L.A. Weekly

Travel, arts, and culture features for L.A. Times and Pasadena Magazine

Poetry and memoir for Slake: Los Angeles

Food stories for TakePart

Restaurant reviews for Tasting Table

Columbia Center for Oral History Research                                                                             January–September 2015

Editor

Reviewed interviews for Atlantic Philanthropies project

Checked audio files and edited transcripts for accuracy

Maintained and updated style guide

Pasadena Conservatory of Music                                                              November 2012–August 2014

Director of Communications and Marketing

Spearheaded rebranding process and helped develop a new website

Planned, wrote, and edited the Conservatory’s annual report and all press releases

Established new public programming

Developed and supervised marketing plan for 10 departments and fluctuating calendar of events

Managed Facebook and Twitter accounts and all digital and print communications

The Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles (MOCA)                                                       July 2010–July 2012

Writer/Editor

Wrote, edited, and proofread MOCA’s quarterly magazine

Interviewed artists, curators, and museum director for publications and exhibition archives

Produced the museum’s quarterly calendar

Assembled monthly e-newsletters

Edited and proofread exhibition descriptions, opening announcements, invitation copy, membership brochures, letters to the board of directors, education program materials, and gallery guides

Wrote and copy edited press releases for the communications department

Proofread all web content for the museum and assisted web editor with Facebook, blog, and Twitter  

L.A. Weekly                                                                                                                                                                 August 2007–June 2010

Assistant to the Editor

Wrote for Considerable Town column, food, music, and news sections

Organized weekly editorial meetings

Managed interns

Assembled tables of contents and letters pages

Proofread articles, dining guides, and weekly entertainment newsletters

Prepared writers’ submissions for journalism contests, including the Pulitzer Prize  

WORKSHOP

Community of Writers Poetry, 2011 

PUBLICATIONS

“Bel Canto,” Literary Pasadena, Prospect Park Books (2013) 

“General Relativity” and “Artichoke,” Slake: Los Angeles (2011; 2010)

Interview with poet Cathy Park Hong and “Yahrtzeit,” Squaw Valley Review (2011)

AWARDS

The Best American Essays (2011)
“Artichoke,” published in Slake: Los Angeles No. 1 (Notable Essay)

Jeanie Anderson Memorial Fund Undergraduate Research/Creative Projects Grant (2006) Awarded for oral history project documenting women with HIV/AIDS working in Durban, South Africa