Melanie Warner Spencer is an award-winning lifestyle journalist, blogger, photographer and photo stylist. She is also a certified yoga teacher and Ayurvedic nutrition and lifestyle counselor. (Read about Spencer’s yoga and Ayurveda training and certifications here, learn more via the Yoga + Ayurveda tab or book a consultation or class.)
Spencer has served as the editor of the award-winning magazines New Orleans Bride, New Orleans Homes, Acadiana Profile and Louisiana Life, as well as editor of “Craft: The Eat Fit Guide to Zero Proof Cocktails” (released November 2022), “The Essential Louisiana Cookbook” and “The Essential Louisiana Seafood Cookbook“). She is also a contributing author of “Cherchez la Femme: New Orleans Women,” a photographic exploration of how New Orleans women have shaped the city by Cheryl Gerber published by University Press of Mississippi and Renaissance Publishing’s 2016 release, “Essential New Orleans: 15 Places We Love.”
In addition to her work as a former etiquette columnist for Biz New Orleans Magazine, Spencer also penned its Great Workspaces design feature for over five years and has been a regular guest expert on WWL-TV/WUPL, New Orleans’ CBS Affiliate.
Her weekly blog at MyNewOrleans.Com, Bon Vivant was recognized multiple times as the best lifestyle blog in New Orleans. She co-blogged and was the editor of Let Them Eat Cake, the official daily blog of New Orleans Bride Magazine and was a co-host of its companion podcast.
For more than 20 years, Spencer’s work has also appeared in print and online in various daily newspapers, such as The Chicago Tribune, the Huffington Post, The Houston Chronicle and The Austin American-Statesman, as well as magazines and online publications around the globe, including Reuters in Australia, the United Kingdom and India. She was a staff features reporter and columnist at The Austin American-Statesman and a senior reporter at The Houston Chronicle.
The former speechwriter for Texas first lady Anita Perry and the Texas Film Hall of Fame Awards, Spencer is also an accomplished public speaker in her own right and often gives presentations workshops on lifestyle topics and journalism at universities, individual businesses and conferences. She has also served as a moderator at the Texas Book Festival and the Louisiana Book Festival.
Originally from Kentucky, Spencer is a fine art and editorial photographer who has won awards for juried exhibitions and editorial work. She has been honored with awards from the Texas Press Association, Press Club of New Orleans and the International and Regional Magazine Association for her editorial photography.
In her spare time, and as a certified sabreur through the Confrérie du Sabre d’Or [Brotherhood of the Golden Saber], Spencer frequently entertains attendees at events and private parties by opening bottles of champagne with one swift stroke of a saber.
Spencer is based in New Orleans. For editorial, speech and scriptwriting, photography and photo styling, speaking engagements or yoga and Ayurveda, email penfemme@gmail.com.
