Bill Clayton
 Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States Email: billclayton@gmail.com MSN: wordforce
I’ve been writing professionally for more than 30 years. I have a particular knack for translating complex subject matter into easily understood reading, so my credits include work for adult and juvenile markets.
My education included communications and engineering – a background that has enabled me to develop a specialty in science writing. HOWEVER, I've had great success in writing comic non-fiction and fiction. I combined my two strengths -- science and comic writing -- in “Seize the Day,” an article about living with epilepsy, which won a national award: the 1999 Distinguished Journalism Award for Magazine Reporting. (Previous winners came from The New York Times, “60 Minutes,” The Boston Globe and a number of other notable sources.) The comic aspect of the story kept it from becoming dark.
Currently, I’m the editor for the Michigan Engineer, the magazine published by the University of Michigan College of Engineering. I also write and edit content for the College of Engineering Web site.
Prior to taking the University of Michigan job, I freelanced full-time as a writer and editor(eight years). I 've also been Editor-in-Chief for Adventurer magazine, a national publication for car/truck owners; CardiSense, a national health/lifestyle newsletter; and Response, a regional newsletter for direct marketers.
I'm a regular contributor to a number of magazines. My topics have been diverse – I’ve written about flow cytometers, and the Muppets; 3-D position-sensitive gamma-ray spectrometers, and the ghosts of Detroit; vegetable-based metal-working fluids, and the use of wooden nickels in advertising. In short, my work has covered a lot of ground.
I’ve interviewed celebrities and everyday Joes – James Michener, Ken Follett, astronaut-senator Jake Garn, Lillian Gish, corporate CEOs, UAW assembly workers, disabled engineers, amateur hockey players and kite enthusiasts.
I'm talented and experienced, but I made the mistake of writing about so many different topics that I miss out on assignments that, according to editors, require a specialist. But I CAN write about anything. Call me. I'll prove it to you. Interests: Science writing (with a specialty in medicine)and comic non-fiction and fiction, for adult AND juvenile markets
Published writer: Yes
Freelance: Yes |
