Writer · Strategist · Storyteller

Rebekah GleavesSanderlin

In the digital world, everything is story — and being able to tell a story is everything.

M.A. Johns Hopkins NYT · WaPo · The Atlantic Award-Winning Journalist Presidential Appointee
Rebekah Gleaves Sanderlin
"Goodness, she can really write."
— Yoni Appelbaum, The Atlantic
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Copywriting Marketing Strategy Journalism Screenwriting Ghostwriting Speechwriting Fiction & Non-Fiction Advocacy Copywriting Marketing Strategy Journalism Screenwriting Ghostwriting Speechwriting Fiction & Non-Fiction Advocacy

Forget "everything is copy."
Everything is story.

I'm a writer, strategist, and storyteller with nearly two decades of full-time journalism under my belt — and a lot more besides. I've crafted marketing strategies for some of the world's most recognized brands, written speeches for Fortune 50 executives and top politicians, and published bylines in the places writers dream of appearing.

But I'm also an advocate, a public speaker, and someone who genuinely believes that the right words, in the right order, can change everything.

I bring that same care to every project — whether it's a 5,000-word personal essay, a 280-character caption, or a screenplay that's been knocking around in my head for years.

Rebekah Gleaves Sanderlin
Old Dominion University
M.F.A., Creative Writing
The Johns Hopkins University
M.A., Communication
Public & Media Relations / Digital & Social Communication
Belmont University
B.A., Communication · Minor: Studio Art & Photography
Journalism Awards
Investigative Reporting · Feature Writing · Non-Deadline Reporting
Creative Writing Awards
Runner-Up, Columbia Journal Writing Contest, 2025
Dickseski Prize for Graduate Fiction, Old Dominion University, 2025
Presidential Appointment
USO Board of Governors, appointed by President Biden
Blue Star Families National Advisory Board
Recognition
NBC Person of the Week · Oprah's Favorite Things · Martha Raye Award
Selected Clients
MetaAmazonGoogleMcDonald'sAbbViePfizerJohnson & JohnsonLiberty MutualLevi's
& many others

Services

Get a Quote →
01
Copywriting
Ad copy, web copy, emails, video scripting, social media, headlines, taglines — whatever words you need, crafted to convert.
02
Marketing Strategy
From earliest conception to NPS scores. Research-backed strategy giving your project a clear roadmap from idea to impact.
03
Ghostwriting
Your story, told in your voice — only better. Books, essays, memoirs, columns. I disappear so your reader never knows I was there.
04
Screenwriting
Features, pilots, commercials, and corporate video scripts. Scripts and treatments available upon request.
05
Journalism
Nearly two decades of bylines in the world's most-read publications. Personal essays, features, and narrative nonfiction.
06
Speechwriting
Your ideas into words that move people. Written for Fortune 50 executives, top politicians, and key governmental leaders.
07
Creative Writing
Short stories, novels, and long-form non-fiction. My first love was fiction — and it shows in everything I write.
08
Public Speaking
Featured speaker at dozens of national events. Topics include women in business, parenting, leadership, and community.
Bylines & Appearances In
Why Is This Interesting? The New York Times The Washington Post The Atlantic CNN USA Today U.S. News & World Report Business Insider Self Maxim Military.com HuffPost

Selected Work

Request Full Portfolio →

My bylines span personal essay, narrative nonfiction, and feature writing — work that gets at the truth of how people live, what they carry, and what they're capable of.

Why Is This Interesting?
Regular Contributor
Essays on skateboarding history, Kilimanjaro, airport layovers, and more — for one of the most respected newsletters in media and strategy circles.
Read My Editions →
The Atlantic
Personal Essay
Long-form personal writing published in one of America's most respected magazines for ideas and culture.
Read Essay →
The Washington Post
Personal Essay & Feature Writing
Essays and features for one of the country's most widely read and respected news publications.
Read Essay →
USA Today · 2024
Army Spouse: Trump's Callous Insult
A 2024 opinion essay on military families and political leadership, originally published in USA Today.
Read Essay →
U.S. News & World Report · 2025
Opinion on Pete Hegseth & Military Standards
A recent opinion piece on military leadership, standards, and the stakes for the troops who serve.
Read Essay →
Business Insider · 2024
Early Retirement Isn't Worth It
A 2024 personal essay on sacrifice, regret, and what we owe ourselves — and the people we love.
Read Essay →

On the Page

01
Middle Grade Fiction · Manuscript Available Upon Request
Bad Elves
Perfect for fans of Percy Jackson and The Warriors. Four mischievous elves — evicted by Santa for accusing him of running a sweatshop — must navigate a dangerous mythological world to rescue their friend from the Krampus before Christmas is forever changed.
02
Contemporary / Literary Fiction · Manuscript Available Upon Request
The Swing
Josh and Nora Arzen have a good marriage. A safe one. When they decide to test its edges one summer, what begins as an intimate experiment expands into career awakenings, family revelations, and — as an actual wildfire closes in — a reckoning with everything they've built and everything they've buried.
03
Contemporary / Literary Fiction · Manuscript Available Upon Request
Expiration Date
Everyone knows the day they will die. The government ensures it. What they can't control is what people do with that knowledge — and what one woman discovers when she starts to question whether the date she's been given is really her own.
04
Memoir · Manuscript Available Upon Request
The Shadow Army
Contact for details.
05
Literary Fiction · Manuscript Available Upon Request
Niceville
While their husbands fight the worst people in the world, the wives of Special Forces soldiers are waging wars of their own.
06
Available for Hire
Ghostwriting
Books written for other authors on fitness, nutrition, immigration law, and personal memoir. Contact for rates.
Goodness, she can really write.
— Yoni Appelbaum, Deputy Editor, The Atlantic

Scripts &
Treatments

01
Jane Wayne Day
Feature
02
Rock Cruise
Feature
03
Just Stay
Feature · Currently in development with Good Fear Content
04
Muckraker
The Blacklist
05
Treatments
Various
Request Scripts →

On Storytelling

Every well-crafted story begins with a plan for how to tell it. A roadmap to make sure you get there — without meandering too far off course and without forgetting the details that make it feel true.

That's story. And that's strategy. I don't separate the two.

From personal essays to ad copy, speeches to screenplays — the craft is always the same. You find the truth of it, and you make someone feel it.

Shared the Stage With
President Barack Obama
First Lady Michelle Obama
Second Lady Jill Biden
Numerous Members of Congress

Two Decades of
Service to Service

I didn't set out to be a military advocate. But the needs were obvious, the community was mine, and rolling up my sleeves was never really a choice — it was just what you did.

Over more than two decades, I've helped start national nonprofits, been appointed to presidential boards, co-led families through heavy combat deployments, and stood on stages with presidents to make the case for people who often can't make it themselves.

20+
Years of veteran & military family advocacy
3
National nonprofits helped to found
500+
Veterans interviewed for VA mental health campaigns
2009 – Present
Blue Star Families — Helped start this national military family nonprofit; served on the National Leadership Team and Advisory Board.
2010
NBC Nightly News "Person of the Week" — Featured for military community support efforts nationwide.
2011
Joining Forces Initiative — Assisted First Lady Michelle Obama and Second Lady Jill Biden in launching this national effort, inspired by Fayetteville Cares.
2012
Oprah's Favorite Things — One of 30 military spouses honored by Oprah for volunteer work, featured on the televised special.
2013 – Present
Military Family Advisory Network — Helped found this research-based nonprofit; served on the first two advisory boards.
2018
The Stayskal Act — Volunteered advocacy for SFC Rich Stayskal, helping get this landmark legislation passed by Congress.
2020
Martha Raye Recognition Award — Awarded by the Special Forces Charitable Trust for 17 years of support to the Special Forces Regiment.
2021 – Present
USO Board of Governors — Appointed by President Biden.
2023–2024
Military Spouse Job Protections — Advocacy contributing to President Biden's executive order expanding job protections for military spouses.
2024
Virginia VMSDEP — Leadership team of the successful effort to restore Virginia's Military Survivors and Dependents Education Program.
With Oprah
Honored by Oprah, 2012
With President Obama and VP Biden
With President Obama & VP Biden
With President Biden
With President Biden

What People Say

Goodness, she can really write.
Yoni Appelbaum
Deputy Editor, The Atlantic
A wonderful piece of writing. Way longer than a usual WITI, but save it for the weekend — it's worth it.
Noah Brier
Co-founder, Why Is This Interesting?
Check out her excellent Portfolio Patina edition.
Colin Nagy
Co-founder, Why Is This Interesting?

Let's Tell
Your Story

Want to talk rates? Brainstorm a project? See my portfolio or read some of my work? I'd love to hear from you.

Status
Accepting new clients
Response
Within 48 hours
Portfolio
Available upon request
Rebekah Gleaves Sanderlin