My name is Lizz Schumer and I’m a writer, journalist and educator from Buffalo, N.Y., currently based in Astoria, N.Y. I primarily work as a journalist, covering food and drink, culture, service journalism, features, and trending news. As a creative writer, I work in creative nonfiction, prose poetry and the occasional foray into fiction. My work can be found in a variety of both online and traditional print journals and magazines (see my clips in the menu above). My first book, Buffalo Steel, came out from Black Rose Writing in 2013 and my second, Biography of a Body, will be released by Unsolicited Press in January, 2021. It’s currently available for preorder wherever books are sold. I hold a B.A. in journalism/mass communications from St. Bonaventure University and an MFA in creative writing from Goddard College.
I currently work as a senior staff writer at Good Housekeeping, with my work also appearing in Woman’s Day and Prevention magazines. I primarily cover books and podcasts, pets, culture, and occasionally wine and spirits. I also freelance regularly for The Spruce Eats, The New York Times, and VinePair, and occasionally for many other outlets. As the former editor of two small community newspapers in upstate New York, I covered everything from breaking news to board meetings and crime, business and finance, features, entertainment and the myriad of daily goings-on that fall under none and all of those categories. For my work at The Springville Journal, I won two Local Media Association awards, one for Editorial Writing and one for Investigative Reporting for my breaking news coverage of a string of pharmacy robberies in the area. For my work on The Sun, I was named one of Editor & Publisher’s “25 Under 35” after I revolutionized the paper’s social and digital media presence.
As a marketer and social media strategist, I ran social media, marketing, public relations and content creation for Resurgence Brewing Company out of Buffalo, N.Y. I like to say that I made everything there except the beer itself. For my work as a marketer for RBC, Target Marketing named me a “Marketer of Tomorrow” in 2016.
As an educator, I currently work as an adjunct instructor for New York University School of Professional Studies, teaching courses on magazine copyediting, newswriting, and freelance writing. I’m also a writing coach with the New York Writing Room, offering individual coaching on all genres of creative and professional writing. I previously served a one-year appointment as a visiting professor of journalism and communications at Canisius College in Buffalo, N.Y. My courses focused on introductions to the field of journalism in print, digital and multimedia forms, as well as narrative journalism, reporting and newsgathering. I also oversaw the senior portfolio class, in which graduating seniors prepare to face the world with the collection of work they’ve created under our tutelage. During the summer, I occasionally teach creative writing with National Geographic Student Expeditions.
