William Newlin spent 25 years as a Foreign Service Officer, serving in Paris, Guatemala, Brussels, and finally as Consul General in Nice, with a Washington assignment between each overseas post. He retired after Nice figuring it would be a hard act to follow.

His post-diplomatic activities began with a book about the lakes on Mt. Desert Island, Maine, followed by some professional Shakespearian acting, and mediating in the District of Columbia court system. He settled on teaching writing as a second career.

He has a BA and an MBA from Harvard and an MA from The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy. His extracurricular loves are fly fishing and sailing. He celebrated his eightieth birthday by sailing across the Atlantic as a crewmember of a Norwegian tall ship.

He lives in Washington, D.C. with Louisa Newlin, his wife of 63 years. They have three children and three grandchildren.