Tilar J. Mazzeo

Dr. Mazzeo is Professeure associée in the Département de littératures et langues du monde and a member of the Centre de recherche interuniversitaire sur les humanités numériques at the Université de Montréal. She was formerly the Clara C. Piper Associate Professor of English at Colby College and has held faculty positions in the Oregon and Wisconsin state university systems. She completed doctoral studies in the Department of English and in the Program in Theory and Criticism at the University of Washington at Seattle in 1999 and is an old member of Pembroke College, University of Cambridge, where she was the Washington Scholar from 1997-1998. She graduated summa cum laude as an undergraduate from the University of New Hampshire, with degrees in English (honors) and Classical Greek.

A recipient of numerous prestigious awards and fellowships for her creative writing and work in narrative non-fiction, including a current award from the Canada Council for the Arts for a project-in-progress, Dr. Mazzeo's previous works of cultural history and biography have been New York Times, San Francisco Chronicle, and Los Angeles Times bestsellers.

Dr. Mazzeo is also a seasoned international wine writer, with a special interest in natural/raw wines, the wines of Napa and Sonoma, and French Champagnes. She holds a post-graduate Winemaking Certificate from the University of California at Davis (2015), an Advanced Certificate with Merit from the WSET (2012, International Wine Center, New York City), and has guest lectured at prestigious wine events including Women of the Vine, the Symposium for International Wine Writers, and the San Francisco School of Wine. Her wine guide series, The Back Lane Wineries, is now being updated for its third edition, and her wine writing has appeared in venues such as Food and Wine.

A U.S. - Canadian dual national, Dr. Mazzeo lives with her husband and stepsons on a family vineyard on Vancouver Island.