Marcia Butler is a nationally acclaimed memoirist and an award-winning novelist. Her memoir, The Skin Above My Knee, was named one of the Washington Post’s “Top ten noteworthy moments in classical music in 2017”. Her third and most recent novel (May 2025), Dear Virginia, Wait for Me, won Distinguished Favorite in literary fiction for the NYC Big Book Awards. And, it was a finalist in the category of general fiction for the New Mexico Book Awards. Best-selling author, Jonathan Lee, writes of Dear Virginia, Wait For Me, “Her protagonist believes she’s being guided by the voice of Virginia Woolf, but it is Butler’s voice — comforting and astute, alive to the music of kindness as well as betrayal — that holds you to the end.” Marcia’s debut novel, Pickle’s Progress, was hailed by Michael Schaub of NPR: “Surprising and audacious, Pickle’s Progress succeeds because of Butler’s willingness to take risks and her considerable charisma. She’s a gifted storyteller with a uniquely dry sense of humor and a real sympathy for her characters.” Of her second novel, Oslo, Maine, Bethanne Patrick of Literary Hub noted, “The author’s deep compassion for a different species means that you will wonder why more writers don’t choose to include all manner of beasts in their narratives.”
Prior to becoming an author, Marcia had several creative careers: professional musician, interior designer, and documentary filmmaker. During her thirty-year musical career, she performed as a principal oboist and soloist on the most renowned of New York and international stages, with many high-profile musicians and orchestras – including pianist Andre Watts and composer/pianist Keith Jarrett. The New York Times hailed her as a “first rate artist”. Her interior design projects have been published in numerous shelter magazines and range up and down the East Coast, from Boston to NYC to Miami. The Creative Imperative, her documentary film exploring the essence of creativity, premiered in 2019 at The New York Society Library and is available on YouTube. Marcia was a 2015 recipient of a Writer-in-Residence through Aspen Words and the Catto Shaw Foundation and was a writing fellow at the Virginia Center for the Creative Arts in 2018 and 2019. After four decades in New York City, she now calls New Mexico home.