Vic Cox

Vic Cox is a professional writer/editor and a veteran journalist with overseas experience. He was chief editor/writer for the faculty and staff newspaper at the University of California, Santa Barbara, until July 2008. He now freelances writing, editing, and photography from neighboring Goleta. Prior to employment at the university, he worked for daily and weekly newspapers and a monthly magazine. He has devoted more than 20 years to full-time, freelance nonfiction magazine and book writing and editing, mostly in the fields of science and travel, and has also published on the Web.

Previous to the young adult book "Guns, Violence, and Teens," his nonfiction books include works on whales and dolphins, various sea life and their habitats, and a young adult reference book on the issues involved in United States immigration. He has also contributed to published anthologies on nature, travel, a movie studio, and to an encyclopedia. He admits that his journalism training (M.A. from UCLA) and experience have biased him in favor of nonfiction writing, but does not preclude future works of fiction.

In addition to freelance contributions to scores of publications, Cox has served on the staffs of the Overseas Family (Frankfurt, Germany), the Riverside (CA) Press-Enterprise, Westways magazine (Los Angeles), and as a part-time copy editor at the Los Angeles Times and Santa Barbara (CA) News-Press.

He has also taught journalism for the California State University’s Long Beach and Northridge campuses; newspaper layout and production for Santa Barbara City College; and business writing for UC Santa Barbara.