Lynn-Waddell_Fringe-Florida_authorLynn Waddell: Author, Journalist, Writing Instructor

Based in St. Petersburg, Fla, Lynn Waddell is an author, journalist, and essayist whose writing career has many chapters.

Her book, Fringe Florida: Travels among Mud Boggers, Furries, Ufologists, Nudists, and Other Lovers of Unconventional Lifestyles, is an offbeat collection of essays that guides readers through the state’s eclectic and daring worlds. Published by the University Press of Florida, Fringe Florida is a national IndieFab award-winner. The Tampa Bay Times called it one of the best non-fiction books of 2013 and Creative Loafing awarded it the “Best Journey into the Underbelly of the Sunshine State. ”

Prior to freelancing, Lynn was the casino beat reporter for the Las Vegas SUN, a state and metro reporter at the Birmingham News, and a staff writer at Tampa’s alternative newspaper Weekly Planet (now Creative Loafing).

Since going independent, Lynn has worked for some of the nation’s largest print media outlets including the Wall Street Journal, the New York Times, Newsweek, and the Daily Beast.com where she reported on everything from the 9-11 terrorists to the Virginia Tech mass shooting to the George Zimmerman murder trial. An investigative journalist at heart, she probed the inter-workings of the United States deportation courts for Florida Lawyer magazine and Florida’s remedial education for the Florida Center for Investigative Reporting in conjunction with NPR. Both projects earned Sunshine State Press awards and the later also won National Education reporting and regional Edward R Murrow awards. She has written about technology for Florida Trend, the Florida Highwaymen for the National Arts Council and outdoor adventures for state and regional travel publications.

Lynn’s appeared on MSNBC, the Oxygen Network and numerous radio shows around the nation related to her reporting and writing.

Through the years she has also taught journalism at the University of South Florida and the University of Tampa.

Please check out her award-winning book, “Fringe Florida,” which has been re-released in paperback.