Draft:Laura DeMarco (author and journalist)

Laura DeMarco is an American author, journalist, historian, lecturer and cultural critic.. She has written four books: two on the history, architecture and culture of Cleveland, Ohio where she is based; one on Civil War battles and one on Mark Twain. DeMarco is a prominent voice on the history, preservation and economic struggles of Cleveland and, more broadly, the Midwest.

DeMarco is also an investigative journalist whose coverage of the 2016 Republican National Convention for The Plain Dealer, appears in the Mueller Report.

Journalism
DeMarco started her journalism career while in college, writing feature stories and music reviews for Alternative Press and Magnet magazines and alternative weekly Cleveland Scene. In 1997, DeMarco became a reporter, editor and producer at Cleveland.com, the website of Cleveland's daily newspaper, The Plain Dealer. She then migrated to The Plain Dealer, where she worked as an arts editor and arts, culture and investigative reporter from 1999 to 2020.

DeMarco oversaw and edited The Plain Dealer 's award-winning Friday magazine – one of the country's largest cultural magazines produced and distributed by a daily paper with a circulation of over 300,000. She wrote on a variety of subject: arts & entertainment, cultural institutions, historic preservation, business, immigrant groups and neighborhoods. She often focused on historical preservation and the issues and struggles confronting the Midwest and its cities, including Cleveland. In the process, she became a prominent voice – thanks to articles and lectures – in the Midwest.

DeMarco received attention for her coverage of the 2016 Republican National Convention, which took place in Cleveland. She wrote a number of breaking news stories on the event, including a report on a private reception for the Global Partners in Diplomacy Conference – which was cited by Mueller Report.

In March of 2018, she received a Commendation from the Council of the City of Cleveland for "outstanding commitment, dedication and significant contributions as an Arts and Culture reporter for The Plain Dealer specializing in local history and lost landmarks. " In January of 2019, she was selected as host of Euronews "Notes from the USA" travel show on Cleveland, one of twenty cities featured on European channel, reaching almost 400 million homes across 160 countries.

She has twice earned the Cleveland Scene Magazine "Best Non-Fiction" writer award, in 2021 and 2022

Books
DeMarco is the author of four books: Lost Cleveland (2017), Cleveland Then and Now (2018), Mark Twain's America Then and Now (2019) and Lost Civil War (2021), all published on London, UK-based Pavilion Books (distributed on in the United States by Harper Collins).

Her books on Cleveland helped to fuel interest in "abandoned" or "lost" spaces as well as the reclamation and revival of them – a popular 21st century theme in urban planning, architecture and American history that explores architectural ruins, but also the revival of them and, in the process, cities of the Midwest.

In Lost Cleveland, she shines a spotlight on the people and places of a once-great American city left for dead by so much of America. Said The Plain Dealer: "This book showcases what a wonderful and unique city we have always been and how our diverse Rust Belt heritage and industrialized history is an important foundation for our identity today." It was selected as one of only twenty books to earn the 2019-2020 Choose to Read honor by the State Library of Ohio.

In Cleveland Then and Now, she tells the history of the city through the transformed spaces that define it. Said The Plain Dealer: "DeMarco is quickly becoming Cleveland's new pop historian du jour. It all began with her first book, Lost Cleveland, a look at local historical sites that had faded from view, victims to the whims of time and change." The Cleveland Public Radio station WCPN said: "Laura DeMarco, author of Cleveland Then and Now discusses the evolving landscape of Northeast Ohio, and how our architecture reveals our history."

The prestigious Mark Twain Review called Mark Twain's America Then and Now a "delightful travelogue" and said "Although too big to fit in a pocket, this book will serve vacationing Twainians just as the venerable Baedeker travel guides served Twain's generation, so get some bigger pockets. For those who cannot visit every place Twain visited, this book is the next best thing–a fun and informative way to feel the past and present converge."

Published in 2021, Lost Civil War seeks to uncover the true lost history of the war that reshaped America: the paved over battlefields, forgotten hospitals, lost photos and untold stories of unlikely heroes. Civil War historian John Banks called Lost Civil War "lavishly illustrated with period photos of battlefields and historic places".

Public speaking
DeMarco frequently delivers lectures throughout the country on history, architecture, literature and pop culture. In 2021, she was awarded a Quarry Farm Fellowship at the Center for Mark Twain Studies in Elmira, NY. Her presentation was titled "Wild to Move."

Personal life
She is currently senior director of content and corporate communications for the Greater Cleveland Partnership.