One Word That Describes Marcia DeSanctis as a Writer is . . .
Self-critical
adjective
“It’s accurate. I’m afraid.”
Marcia DeSanctis began as a journalist before transitioning into her full-time career as a writer. From hardcore journalism to personal narratives and travel essays, she has written for a variety of publications, ranging from 60 Minutes to Travel + Leisure. In her travel writing, she focuses on the “interior journey” which is often more interesting.
Marcia describes herself as a self-critical writer. She operates with a healthy dose of pressure, allowing herself to be unconstrained by those five-ways-to-be-productive lists. She feels that “every old concept is always worth investigating.”
Her approach to writing is self-led and built around expanding on “narrative threads,” once a central conflict is found. “I write when I need to write, which is often. It can be the afternoon, it can be nighttime, or after dinner.” Her timeline is on her “own terms.”
Marcia DeSanctis is a Contributing Editor at Travel + Leisure, and has written essays and stories for Air Mail, Vogue, Town & Country, BBC. Marie Claire, The Common, Lit Hub, Orion, Lonely Planet, Roads & Kingdoms and many other publications. She is the author of the New York Times travel bestseller 100 Places in France Every Woman Should Go and the memoir-in-essays A Hard Place to Leave: Stories from a Restless Life. She has received seven Lowell Thomas Awards for excellence in travel journalism, including one for Travel Journalist of the Year. https://marciadesanctis.com/
Interview by Seraphim Walker