About Renee Brincks

Hi. I’m Renee Brincks.

Editorial and content marketing teams hire me to write friendly, actionable copy about travel, hospitality, sustainability, small businesses, and community builders. I draw on 15+ years of freelance journalism and communications experience to tell resonant stories for publishers, companies, agencies, and associations.

Talk with Renee

A few highlights:



Bylines: National Geographic Traveler, Sierra, the San Francisco Chronicle, BBC Travel, United Hemispheres, Via, Sunset, Travel Weekly, Alaska Airlines Beyond, American Way, Where San Francisco, Endless Vacation, Carmel Magazine, Rodale’s Organic Life, Smart Meetings, and other consumer and trade publications.



Brand work: Buick, Humana, Google, Pebble Beach, the American Physiological Society, 1440 Multiversity, Monterey-Salinas Transit, Telc Language Tests, Hornblower Cruises, and others, both directly and through agency partnerships.



Key strengths: I bring a reporter’s research and interviewing skills, a copywriter’s creativity, clear narrative vision, and strategic storytelling expertise to each new project.



Client relationships: Several of my client partnerships span 15+ years. I regularly work with a range of stakeholders, from CEOs to subject matter experts to solopreneurs.



Project experience: B2B and B2C articles, profiles, SEO-driven blog content, ghostwriting projects, newsletters, narrative case studies, annual reports, web copy, and more.

A little more about me

An antique orange VW bus in a mountainous setting

A group of people collaborate in a modern, brightly lit office space

I’m a Travel Weekly contributing editor and a former San Francisco editor for Zagat. My articles helped feature projects win Society of American Travel Writers and North American Travel Journalists Association awards. I wrote a chapter on Volkswagen bus tour owners for the book Bulli Love.

Before launching my freelance business, I managed marketing communications for See Monterey. Before that, I was a Des Moines Register reporter. I earned a master’s in communication at Australia’s Bond University as a Rotary scholar, and I double-majored in English and Spanish at Central College.

I grew up on a small Iowa farm and lived in Spain, Alaska, and Australia before landing on the California coast. These days, I’m based in San Francisco and spend part of each year working from Iowa’s Driftless Area.

I’m a Travel Weekly contributing editor and a former San Francisco editor for Zagat. My articles helped feature projects win Society of American Travel Writers and North American Travel Journalists Association awards. I wrote a chapter on Volkswagen bus tour owners for the book Bulli Love.

Before launching my freelance business, I managed marketing communications for See Monterey. Before that, I was a Des Moines Register reporter. I earned a master’s in communication at Australia’s Bond University as a Rotary scholar, and I double-majored in English and Spanish at Central College.

I grew up on a small Iowa farm and lived in Spain, Alaska, and Australia before landing on the California coast. These days, I’m based in San Francisco and spend part of each year working from Iowa’s Driftless Area.

Contact me to discuss projects for publications, nonprofits, associations, and mission-driven companies.

Start the Conversation

View My Writing Samples

Select outlets and clients

Served directly and through agency partnerships



A standout contributor and an absolute pleasure to work with.

“During the five years we worked together, I could always count on Renee for compelling story ideas and engaging, thoroughly reported copy that was on time, hit assigned length, and was damn clean to boot.”

– Eric Moya, former destinations editor, Travel Weekly



Renee is that rare reporting and writing powerhouse.

“She uncovers offbeat characters and under-the-radar stories, communicates clearly (and oh-so-pleasantly), and files squeaky-clean copy promptly. Her descriptions are singular and dazzling, and she makes the creation of thoughtfully structured, well-paced, and absorbing stories appear easy. Renee has repeatedly made my job as an editor almost laughably easy. She’s truly a treasure of a freelancer.”

– Katie O’Reilly, adventure and lifestyle editor, Sierra Magazine



One of my go-to luxury lifestyle writers.

“In her work for Pebble Beach and GuestLife Monterey Bay magazines, Renee consistently captures the spirit of place and delivers the perfect balance of context and insider knowledge that makes her stories interesting, informative and, best of all, memorable.”

– Steven Biller, editorial director, Palm Springs Life