About Me
Samantha Merz has spent most of her adult life trying to get people to take her and pop-punk seriously. During her late teens through her early 20s, she worked at Plan 9 Music in Williamsburg and Richmond, slinging records and receiving her “musical education.”
Following her undergrad degree, she was sucked into that “working for the bread” (see: survival) machine. After a career change from retail to education, she accepted admission into a Master’s of English program at Virginia Commonwealth University. During that time, through hellish assignments, a pandemic, and just the pain of existence, she enrolled in a creative non-fiction workshop. There, she realized that her deep-seeded longing to become a professional writer was a line she wanted to pursue. Thanks to the feedback and warm support of her classmates and professor, she decided to give it a try. Her first piece of (long-winded) published writing is featured in Wig-Wag Magazine’s Summer 2021 volume. Focusing on a specific film and its importance to the writer, she wrote about Almost Famous.
Heavily influenced by the film at formidable age, Samantha hopes to one day make her name as a rock writer focusing on “Hot Takes,” abolishing the “music snobbery” that she encountered while working at the record store, and creating dialogue outside of the vacuum of contemporary music’s relationship with press releases and PR (trust her, she has a degree in it).
Since graduating in May 2021, she has become an adjunct community college English composition professor and a consultant at a writing center, helping other writers and students find their voices.
Outside of the classroom, Samantha’s writing can be found at the intersection of musical criticism, literary analysis, pop culture musings, and personal narrative. Her primary focus is on making meaning out of specific life experiences while also examining them through the lens of how influential music and culture are on individuals.
When not writing or teaching, she enjoys baking for her friends, performing improv at the Coaltion Theater, roller skating in church parking lots, bothering her partner and cat, Nugget, and figuring out “what it all means.” Her favorite albums right now are Kate Bush’s “Hounds of Love” and “Harry’s House.” Yes, she is a 1D/Harry stan.
She lives in Richmond, VA.
CV
Education
Virginia Commonwealth University — BS in Communications, Concentration: Public Relations; Minor: English — August 2013
Virginia Commonwealth University — MA in English; Areas of study: Victorian culture and literature, travel writing, Critical Race Theory, Gender/Sexuality Studies, Post-Colonialism, Authorship, Editorial Theory — May 2021
Awards
Northeastern Victorian Studies Association Mentee Award-Winner, Spring 2021
Publications
Wig-Wag Magazine, Vol. 15 — Almost Famous — August 2021
Velvet Kove, “Wish You Were Here” EPK copywriter — July 2022