Welcome.
I am a Seattle journalist and book author who writes often about animals, plants, the outdoors, and people. I recently co-authored Seattle Field Guide: Explore Nature in the City, a colorful, seasonal guide to 38 nature-filled outings and facts about the wild animals and plants that share our parks, shorelines, campuses and neighborhoods.
Seattle Field Guide is out now!
NEW BOOK
“Dipping into these pages, our sense of the urban community expands to include sea stars, starlight, and the array of life in between.”
-Lyanda Lynn Haupt, author of Rooted and Crow Planet.
The 38 outings in this book get readers outside, to see the city’s tallest coast redwood, a garden with winter-blooming flowers, and a rare native plant meadow in a neighborhood park. Go birdwatching, canoeing, and tide pooling, all within city limits. We wrote this book to give city dwellers new ways to enjoy nature, while learning about the animals and plants with whom we share a home.
Articles
My writing on subjects including the outdoors, wildlife, trees and conservation has been published in many places including Smithsonian Magazine, Sierra, Seattle Times, Mother Jones, Sunset Magazine, Crosscut, Seattle Magazine, and Seattle Metropolitan.
Business Writing
In addition to creative writing and journalism, I have been a professional freelance content writer and developer for two decades, helping businesses, nonprofits, and individuals tell stories that educate, engage, and delight. My approach is friendly and collaborative, and I meet my goals with creativity, diligence, and a sense of humor.
Other Books by Maria Dolan
Nature in the City: Seattle (Mountaineers Books, 2003. Out of print.)
"Maria Dolan and Kathryn True's Nature in the City: Seattle is a first-rate guidebook...a treasure map to Seattle's wild and not so wild places… " (David B. Williams, The Seattle Times, 2003).
Like Seattle Field Guide, this guidebook co-authored with naturalist and writer Kathryn True wove together nature outings with cultural and natural history. It was the inspiration for Seattle Field Guide.
Outside Magazine's Urban Adventure: Seattle (W.W. Norton, 2004)
This book was part of Outside Magazine's national Urban Adventure guidebook series. True to the series format, it guided readers interested in the most popular sports and other outdoor activities in Greater Seattle and Washington State, including sea kayaking, sailing, mountaineering, climbing, hiking and birdwatching.
Let’s Get in Touch
Get in touch by emailing me at mariafieldguide@gmail.com, or find me on Instagram @bookish_md