Welcome to the online home of Southern California editor and author Donna Wares.
An avid traveler and nature lover, I'm an editor who likes to write, too, and a news junkie who loves to tackle projects that push my boundaries. My work has appeared in books, newspapers, magazines and online.
I’m an award-winning storyteller with experience working at some of the nation’s top media companies across print, web publishing and social media platforms. My books include The Wonder Years, My California and an Explorer's Guide to Santa Barbara and California's Central Coast. In 2012, I returned to my first love: daily newspapers.
Here’s a snapshot of my work:
Managing Editor, Orange County Register.
Storyteller and newsroom leader at this Southern California newspaper with more than 200 staffers, focused on print and online news.Business Editor, Orange County Register. Supervised growing business staff as the newspaper restored a standalone business section, doubled staff and dramatically expanded coverage of the Southern California economy. OC Metro named me one of "20 Women to Watch" in 2013.
Contributing Writer and Editor, NBCNews.com. I worked with NBCNews.com (previously MSNBC.com) as a writer and project manager to develop an online business series, New World of Work, with web, video and social media content.
Managing Editor, Entrepreneur Media. I launched and ran the magazine’s innovative startup, SecondAct.com, a daily exploration of jobs, personal finance, health news and midlife reinvention.
National Weekend Editor, Los Angeles Times. My job involved supervising and planning weekend coverage and brainstorming stories with the newspaper's talented national correspondents on breaking news, enterprise reports and in-depth projects. I also worked as an editor on the Times State Desk and as deputy city editor in the Orange County Edition.
Book Editor and Author. Contract book editor and writer specializing in nonfiction projects and web publishing. Favorite project: editing the best-selling anthology My California: Journeys by Great Writers, featuring 27 California novelists, nonfiction writers, poets and journalists. Contributors donated their work so all proceeds from this special book could benefit the California Arts Council and writing programs for children.
