Nikki Moustaki, the author of The Bird Market of Paris: A Memoir, has a copious pet writing oeuvre, but she has also written magazine articles on topics as wide ranging as stem cell therapy, the healing power of creativity, the intricacies of fashion, aging well, and African safaris. She has penned articles for Good Housekeeping, The New York Times Modern Love column, Publisher's Weekly, the Miami Herald, Latina Magazine, the Village Voice, Jane, National Endowment for the Humanities Magazine, Zagat’s, and Time To Spa Magazine.
Nikki's 46 published books have sold more than 500,000 copies, and her magazine articles, columns, and blogs reach over two million readers a month. Her favorites include The Bird Market of Paris: A Memoir, The Idiot's Guide to Writing Poetry, and Parrots for Dummies. Nikki holds an MA in poetry from New York University (1997), an MFA in poetry from Indiana University (2000), and an MFA in fiction from New York University (2009), and has taught creative and expository writing at both of those universities, as well as at The New School in New York City. She is the recipient of a National Endowment for the Arts grant in poetry, along with many other national writing awards, including three Pushcart Press nominations. Her poetry, fiction, and essays have appeared in various literary magazines, anthologies, and college textbooks, including The American Literary Review, Poetry After 9-11: An Anthology of New York Poets, and America Now, chosen by Robert Atwan, editor of the Best American Essays series. Before beginning her career as a freelance writer and editor, Nikki worked as an acquisitions and development editor at Macmillan Publishing and IDG Books Worldwide, Inc., where she specialized in the non-fiction market. During her second year in graduate school at NYU, Nikki held a year-long publishing internship at Regan Books, a division of HarperCollins. She also freelance edits books and magazine and web content, and produces video content for pet product companies. Nikki was a volunteer mentor at PowerPoetry.org, helping kids ages 13 to 21 fulfill their dreams of writing poems, and has volunteered with Starbucks' Urban Blend writing series, in conjunction with Scholastic, helping youth hone their writing skills and publish their writing. She also volunteered with a program at the Public Theater in New York City teaching playwriting to children who lost a parent on 9/11. Nikki grew up with birds, and became a renowned avian care and behavior consultant, author, and speaker, drawing from her experience as a bird breeder, and later, as a bird rescue advocate, all of which gave her rich material for The Bird Market of Paris: A Memoir. She is also dog trainer specializing in the training and rehabilitation of rescue dogs. She is active in dog rescue, pulling dogs from shelters, transporting, and fostering. She hosts several websites including The Pet Postcard Project, a popular grassroots charity project that raises pet food for animal shelters and Nikki Knows Pets, a pet product review blog. Nikki splits her time between New York City and Miami Beach with her two rescue dogs and a variety of fish. |
There is a popular misconception that writing happens out of sheer genius or inspiration, and that all artists work alone. Most writers I know rely on someone they can trust with their work, which essentially implies someone we can also trust with our lives. Luckily, I found both a long time ago in Nikki Moustaki, a brilliant author and poet in her own right. When I needed feedback on my first drafts of the inaugural poem (One Today) I immediately reached out to her, as I have many times before, needing her input more than ever given the circumstances. --Richard Blanco, 2013 Inaugural Poet |