Billy Thomas is the former owner and publisher of OLY ARTS magazine, the south sound’s premier mutli-platform arts publication, reaching 30,000 readers each month. He is an Olympia native and has been an advocate for local arts and businesses for many years. He worked for The Olympian and The News Tribune newspapers for six years, …
Melissa is a graduate of The Evergreen State College who splits her time between whipping up a mean latte, writing in her mobile office, and stage managing local theater productions. Melissa’s roots stretch from the artesian wells of Olympia to the cobblestoned streets of Deutschland. Contact any member of the OLY ARTS writing staff at …
Molly Walsh is a writer and photographer, freelancing for Thurston Talk and the Shelton-Mason County Journal in addition to OLY ARTS. Her reporting assignments take her throughout the South Sound and she loves finding new people to meet and new stories to tell. You can always find Molly with a camera in hand and in …
Rebekah is a freelance writer and editor under Finn Communications LLC, with a background in English literature and a Certificate in Editing. Her experience includes nonprofit communications, including social media and grantwriting. Her passion is to help tell stories that have a positive impact on the world and especially through local arts and business. When she’s …
OLY ARTS Editor Alec Clayton is an artist and writer. In addition to being the editor of and writing for OLY ARTS, he has written art and theater reviews and other feature articles for the Weekly Volcano, The News Tribune, Art Access, The Olympian, and Thurston Talk. His published novels include “Teacher,” “Tupelo,” the three …
Lucia is a writer and visual artist new to the Olympia region. She discovered her love of writing post-college through writing proposals and grants for her own creative work, nonprofits, and art collectives. In addition to writing for Oly Arts, she has had work published in the Mid America Print Council Journal, and has an …
Molly Gilmore has written for many years on arts, culture and entertainment. She writes for OLY ARTS, The Olympian, The News Tribune and a variety of other South Sound publications. Articles
Rosemary Ponnekanti is a multimedia storyteller and data analyst. For 11 years, she was an arts and features reporter for The News-Tribune in Tacoma, Washington. Before that, she was the editor in chief of ArtsHouston magazine. She holds a master’s degree in communication in digital media from the University of Washington and a bachelor’s degree …
Guy Bergstrom is a speechwriter and speech coach and is a member of the Professional Speechwriters Association. He is also an award-winning reporter and a contributing editor to Criminal Element and The Big Thrill. He now hosts the popular writing and pop culture blog The Red Pen of Doom. He was a contributing writer for The New York …
Melinda Minton is new to Olympia and feels right at home in this incredible community. She has authored five books and countless articles.She is a spa and wellness expert who has lived and traveled around the world. Her favorite people are the ‘cannibals” of Irian Jaya in Indonesia. The arts are a part of the …