Dena Carol Benatan

I was born and raised in the U.S. and moved to South Africa to join my family in my father's hometown, Cape Town, in 1979 after completing my degree in journalism at U.C. Berkeley. I have more than 35 years of experience as a writer and editor and have been freelancing since 2005, having spent 10 years as a magazine editor and 15 years as an agency advertising copywriter before that. I also spent two years teaching journalism and media studies at tertiary level, and another two years as Creative Director for a leading real estate company.

When people ask me why I became a writer, I tell them it's because I can't draw so the only way I can paint pictures is with words. I love telling stories, whether it's a 140-character Twitter post, a 500-word blog post, or an in-depth piece about a client's product or service. To me, it's all about making a connection with the reader. Having spent most of my career in advertising, I understand the importance of creating desire through words.

While I can and do write about a wide variety of subjects, I have a particular interest in design, new technologies, all aspects of sustainability, food, and health.

I write everything from websites, social media posts, and emails to ads, press releases, speeches, brochures, magazine articles, and more. Despite having jumped from magazines to copywriting, I continue to take on editing jobs, as well as jobs that require me to take complex subjects and make them accessible to the layman.

As a freelancer, I'm quite used to working remotely, taking briefs via email, phone, or Skype, and pride myself on delivering good work on time and on brief.