Maggie Downs

Maggie Downs is a columnist, essayist and journalist in Palm Springs who has worked in print and online media for more than 15 years. She was a syndicated columnist for Gannett Newspapers (known now USA Today Network) and a metro reporter for the Cincinnati Enquirer. After moving to California, she became a features reporter and weekly lifestyles columnist for The Desert Sun. She holds a bachelor's degree in magazine journalism from Ohio University and an MFA in creative nonfiction from University of California Riverside-Palm Desert. Her work has appeared in the New York Times, the Washington Post, the Los Angeles Times, the BBC, Smithsonian, Eating Well, and The Rumpus, among other publications. Downs is also a coach with the Coachella Valley Storytellers Project.